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THE ETHICS OF SUICIDE

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1          Oxford University Press in Partnership with the University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Library ETHICS OF SUICIDE DIGITAL ARCHIVE http://ethicsofsuicide.lib.utah.edu

In recognition of the broad scope of this project and the importance for readers of the capacity to search and interact with texts, Oxford University Press and the University of Utah’s J.Willard Marriott Library have partnered to provide both a print volume of The Ethics of Suicide and an associated Digital Archive open to any reader using the Web. The two versions—the condensed, print version and the full, digital Archive—are connected by QR codes maintained by Marriott Library. If you have the print copy, you can use your smart phone or tablet to scan the code and connect to the Archive (you will need a QR-code scanning app, available for free), or simply type the URL into your browser: http://ethicsofsuicide.lib.utah.edu The Digital Archive is fully searchable for any term or expression. The Archive includes complete excerpts, links where possible to the full primary sources referenced in the book, and open library catalog records that point readers to local library holdings when the primary source is only available in print. Readers can search and browse by author, time period, keyword, intellectual tradition, or geographic region. Readers can also comment on the selections, submit corrections, and suggest new material to be considered for inclusion. Instructions on how to do so can be found at http://ethicsofsuicide.lib.utah.edu/about/.

To comment on a selection:

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THE ETHICS OF SUICIDE Historical Sources

MARGARET PABST BATTIN Editor

1

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1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford NewYork Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, NewYork, NY 10016

© M. Pabst Battin 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress ISBN 978–0–19–513599–2

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

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Margaret PabstBattin Philosophy, University ofUtah

Senior ConsultingEditor MichaelRudick English, University of Utah, Emeritus

General Consulting Editors Peter Y.Windt Philosophy, University of Utah, Emeritus Robert Helbling Languages, University of Utah, Emeritus

Consulting Editors Ewa Wasilewska Egypt Anthropology, University ofUtah Baruch A.Brody Judaism Philosophy, Rice University Karin Andriolo Egypt, Hinduism Anthropology, State University of New York/NewPaltz, Emerita Noam Zohar Judaism Philosophy, Bar-Ilan University Frank J. Leavitt Judaism The Centre for Asian and International Bioethics Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Emeritus Daniel J.H. Greenwood Judaism Maurice A.Deane SchoolofLaw Hofstra University Christine Everaert Hinduism, Buddhism,Islam Languages, University ofUtah Kristi L.Wiley Jainism South and Southeast Asian Studies University of California, Berkeley Eric L.Hutton China Philosophy, University ofUtah Yukio Kachi China,Japan Philosophy, University of Utah, Emeritus

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CONSULTING EDITORS

Eirik Lang Harris China:Confucius, Mencius Center for East Asian and Comparative Philosophy Public Policy, City University of HongKong Peter von Sivers Islam History, University ofUtah BernardWeiss Islam Middle East Center and Languages, University of Utah, Emeritus Lois A.Giffen Islam Middle East Center and Languages, University of Utah, Emerita Salman H.Bashier al-Ghazali, al-Tawhidi,Islam Independent Scholar, Jerusalem Nicholas R. White ClassicalGreek Philosophy, University of Utah, Emeritus Glenn W. Olsen Early Christianity History, University of Utah, Emeritus Christie L. Ward Viking Texas A&M University, Emerita Michael P.Macdonald University of Michigan

Sym; early England

Susanne Sreedhar Philosophy, Boston University

Hobbes, Pufendorf, 17th century Europe

Lex Newman Locke Philosophy, University ofUtah Gordon Mower Montaigne Philosophy, Brigham Young University Elijah Millgram Mill Philosophy, University ofUtah Stephen R.Latham Increase Mather; CottonMather Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics Yale University Tom L.Beauchamp Hume Philosophy, Georgetown University Don Garrett Hume Philosophy, NewYork University Thomas F.Tierney 17th, 18th century; Sociology and Anthropology, 19th, 20th c.Continental College of Wooster

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CONSULTING EDITORS

Benjamin D.Crowe Fichte, Hegel, Novalis Philosophy, University ofUtah Lynn McDonald Florence Nightingale Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, Emerita Wilfred Samuels Equiano English, University ofUtah Gene Fitzgerald Dostoevsky Languages, University ofUtah Nicholas Gier Gandhi Philosophy, University of Idaho, Emeritus Victoria J.Barnett Bonhoeffer U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Mary Ellen Waithe Women Philosophy and Comparative Religion, Cleveland State University, Emerita Lyle Campbell Indigenous Cultures University of Hawaii,Manoa David Lester North American Indigenous Cultures Psychology, The Richard Stockton College of NewJersey , Emeritus John N.Fritz (deceased) North America; Central andSouth History and Anthropology, America Salt Lake Community College Peter H.Wood North American Indigenous History, Duke University, Emeritus Cultures; the SlaveTrade Carolyn Morrow Languages, University of Utah, Emerita

Central and South America

Polly Wiessner Oceania, NewGuinea Anthropology, University ofUtah Kim Skoog Oceania, Indian Philosophy, Philosophy, University of Guam Jainism Nicholas J.Goetzfridt Oceania Library Science and Micronesian Studies, University ofGuam Donald H. Rubinstein Oceania Anthropology and Public Health, University ofGuam

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CONSULTING EDITORS

RESEARCH ASSISTANCE Jill Baeder, Former Associate Director, University of Utah Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Mark Lehman, research assistant Patrick Bostick, research assistant John Smith, research assistant Salman Bashier, research assistant Timothy Schaat, research assistant Monica Birth, research assistant Brandon Barton, research assistant Ali Wilson, research assistant Danya Jane Martell, research assistant William Martinez, research assistant Christopher L. Peterson, research assistant Julia Kotlyar, research assistant David Dick, research assistant Mary-Jane Forbyn, research assistant Ashley Chadwick, research assistant Daniel B. Jarvis, research assistant Joshua Weber, research assistant David Setser, research assistant Conor Walline, research assistant Kenneth Blake Vernon, research assistant Steven Francis Capone, research assistant Melanie Leverich, research assistant Cynthia Chen, research assistant Paul Harrie, research assistant Dani Eyer, research associate Kathryn Brunauer Horvat, research associate Digital Archive, University of Utah J.Willard Marriott Library Alberta Comer, Dean of the J. Willard Marriot Library and University Librarian Allyson Mower, Scholarly Communications & Copyright Librarian Anne Morrow, Digital Initiatives Librarian Joyce Ogburn, Former Dean and University Librarian Rick Anderson, Associate Dean for Scholarly Resources and Collections John Herbert, Former Manager of Digital Ventures Floyd Shiery, Cataloger Brian A. McBride, Applications Program Developer

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I.

Introduction:The Ethics of Suicide

1

II. Selections

15 [†] Expanded in Digital Archive [‡] In Digital Archive only

Egyptian Didactic Tale (c. 1937–1759 B.C.)

17

Dialogue of a Man With His Soul †

The Vedas, Upanishads, and Puranas (c. 1500–c. 500 B.C.)

21

Rigveda Chandogya Upanishad Isha Upanishad Brahma Purana Padma Purana Skanda Purana Jabala Upanishad

The Hebrew Bible and Apocrypha (c. 12th-1st centuries B.C.)

26

Genesis:The Prohibition of Bloodshed Exodus:The Ten Commandments† Judges:Samson and the Philistines I Samuel-II Samuel:Saul and his Armor-Bearer Job:The Sufferings of Job Daniel:Shadrach, Meschach, Abednego and the Fiery Furnace‡ II Maccabees:The Suicide of Razis‡

Homer (c. 8th century B.C.)

38

The Iliad:The Deaths of Hector and Achilles

Dharmashastra (c. 600 b.c.–200 a.d.)

42

Gautama Sutra Apastamba Sutra Vasishtha Sutra Laws of Manu Vishnu Smriti

The Jain Tradition (599–527 b.c. to 5th century a.d.)

46

Acaranga Sutra:The Seventh Lecture, called Liberation Upasaka-Dashah:Ten Chapters on Lay Attenders: The Story of Ananda‡ Tattvartha Sutra:Passionless End is Not Suicide† †

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Confucius (551–479 b.c.)

53

The Analects The Book of Filial Piety

Sophocles (c. 496–406 b.c.)

57

Ajax Oedipus at Colonus †

Euripides (c. 484–406 b.c.)

63

Suppliant Women:The Suicide of Evadne, Watched by her Father

The Hippocratic Corpus (c. 450–c. 350 b.c.)

68

The Hippocratic Oath About Maidens

Plato (c. 424–c. 348 b.c.)

72

Apology:Socrates on Being Condemned to Death Phaedo:The Death of Socrates† The Republic:On Medicine† The Laws:Recidivist Criminals and Penalties for Suicide† †

Aristotle (384–322 b.c.)

83

Nicomachean Ethics

Mencius (c. 372–c. 289 b.c.)

85

The Mencius

Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 b.c.)

86

Embracing Sand

Chrysippus (c. 280–c. 206 b.c.)

90

The Stoics’ Five Reasons for Suicide

Sima Qian (c. 145/135–86 b.c.)

92

Records of the Grand Historian The Basic Annals of Xiang Yu‡ The Assassin and his Sister Letter in Reply to Ren Shaoqing†

Cicero (106–43 b.c.)

98

Tusculan Disputations On Ends‡ On Old Age †

The Questions of King Milinda (c. 100 b.c.) On Suicide

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Contents

Livy (59 b.c.–17 a.d.)

105

The History of Rome:The Rape of Lucretia †

Seneca (4 b.c.–65 a.d.)

107

Moral Letters to Lucilius Letter 70:On the Proper Time to Slip the Cable† Letter 77:On Taking One’s Own Life† Letter 78:On the Healing Power of the Mind‡

Valerius Maximus (fl. c.14–c. 37)

113

Memorable Doings and Sayings †

Pliny the Elder (23–79)

115

Natural History Of God Nature of the Earth What Diseases are Attended with the Greatest Pain

Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35/50–c. 107)

118

Epistle:To the Romans

Josephus (37–c. 100)

122

The Jewish War The Defeat at Jotapata‡ The Fall of Masada†

Plutarch (c. 46–c. 120)

127

Moralia:The Women of Miletus Parallel Lives:Cato the Younger

The New Testament (c. 50–c. 125)

131

Matthew:The Death of Jesus and the Suicide of Judas Acts:Paul Prevents a Suicide I Corinthians:The Body as Temple Philippians:Paul in Prison:On the Desire to Die

Lotus Sutra (c. 50–c. 200)

136

Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King†

Tacitus (c. 55–c.117)

141

The Annals:The Death of Seneca

Epictetus (c. 55–c. 135) Discourses How From the Doctrine of Our Relationship to God We Are To Deduce its Consequences How We Should Bear Illness‡ Of Freedom

144

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Pliny the Younger (62–113)

147

Letters To Calestrius Tiro To Catilius Severus† To Marcilius Nepos‡ To Calpurnius Macer‡

Justin Martyr (c. 100–165)

150

The Second Apology:Why Christians Do Not Kill Themselves

Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–c. 215)

151

The Miscellanies The Praises of Martyrdom† Those Who Offered Themselves for Martyrdom Reproved‡

Tertullian (c. 160–c. 220)

153

To the Martyrs The Crown of Martyrdom †

Bhagavad-Gita (3rd century)

157

The Way to Eternal Brahman

Genesis Rabbah (compiled 3rd–5th century)

161

Commentary on Genesis 9:5

Plotinus (204–270)

162

The Enneads On Happiness On the Primal Good and Secondary Forms of Good ‘The Reasoned Dismissal’

Lactantius (c. 240–c. 320)

165

The Divine Institutes

Eusebius (c. 260–339)

168

Ecclesiastical History

Ambrose (337/340–397)

171

Of Virgins:Letter to Marcellina

Augustine (354–430)

174

The City of God On Free Choice of the Will† †

The Babylonian Talmud (3rd–6th centuries) Bava Kamma Avodah Zarah Gittin Semahot

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Bana (c. 595–c. 655)

184

Harsha-Carita, The Death of the Great King:On Sati Kadambari †

The Quran (traditional date c.632–c. 650)

191

Surahs 2.54, 2.154, 2.195, 2.207, 3.145, 3.169–70, 4.29–30, 4.66, 4.74–80, 9.111, 18.6

Hadith: The Sayings of Muhammad (7th–9th century)

197

Ya’qub al-Qirqisani (c. 890–c. 960)

203

The Book of Lighthouses and Watchtowers †

Ahmad ibn Fadlan (fl. 920s)

207

The Risala:By the River Volga, 922:Viking Ship-Burial

Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi (c. 923–1023)

210

Borrowed Lights:On Suicide †

Jetsun Milarepa (c. 1052–c. 1135)

212

Songs of Milarepa †

Abu-Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali (1056–1111)

214

Revival of the Religious Sciences †

Tosafot (12th–14th centuries)

218

On Avodah Zarah 18a On the Torah:Concerning Genesis Rabbah (Genesis 9:5)

Henry de Bracton (c. 1210–1268)

219

On the Laws and Customs of England:Where a Man Commits Felony Upon His Own Person

The Norse Sagas (c. 1220–c. 1400)

221

Ynglinga Saga:Odin Marks Himself with a Spear Gautrek’s Saga:The Family Cliff† Njal’s Saga:The Burning of Njal‡ ‡

Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274)

227

Summa Theologiae:Whether One is Allowed to Kill Oneself

Angela of Foligno (c. 1248–1309)

230

The Book of Divine Consolation of the Blessed Angela of Foligno †

Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Battuta (1304–1368/69)

235

Rihla:On Sati and Religious Suicide

Thomas More (1478–1535) Utopia A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation†

237

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Martin Luther (1483–1546)

243

Table Talk

Francisco de Vitoria (c.1483/92–1546)

244

Lecture on Homicide Commentary on [Thomas Aquinas] Summa Theologiae IIa IIae Q.64 A.5‡ †

John Calvin (1509–1564)

248

Sermons on Job †

Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (1510–1573)

252

Yam shel Shelomoh On Bava Kamma 8:59

Central and South American Indigenous Cultures (documented 1519–1621)

Central America Aztec Codex Chimalpopoca: The Death of Quetzalcoatl (1570)‡ Letters from Mexico (Hernán Cortés, 1519–1520) General History of the Things of New Spain (The Florentine Codex) The Festival in the Month of Tóxcatl The Sun, Moon, and Stars, and the Binding of the Years (Bernardino de Sahagún, c.1565) Monarchia Indiana Chimalpopoca’s Victory in Death ( Juan de Torquemada, 1609–1615) In Defense of the Indians (Bartolomé de Las Casas, 1548–1550) Maya Popol Vuh History of the Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque How the People Obtained Fire (dictated in K’iche’, c.1554–1558; Francisco Ximénez, c.1701) An Account of the Affairs of Yucatán Ixtab:Goddess of the Gallows (Diego de Landa, c.1570) Caribbean Peoples Natural History of the West Indies Suicide on the Death of the Chief (Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo, 1526)

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270

273

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Contents

La Historia General de las Indias Suicide, Smallpox, and the Arrival of the Spaniards (Francisco López de Gómara, 1552) History of the New World Suffering at the Hands of the Spaniards (Girolamo Benzoni, 1565) South America The Incas The Incas: The Burial of Wives (Pedro de Cieza de León, 1553) Natural and Moral History of the Indies Of Superstitions They Used to the Dead ( José de Acosta, 1589) The Extirpation of Idolatry in Peru What Those Who Hang Themselves Really Are (Pablo José de Arriaga, 1621)

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)

276

278

Of Cannibals A Custom of the Island of Cea† ‡

Abu’l Fazl ibn Mubarak (1551–1602)

284

Biography of the Emperor Akbar:On Jauhar and Saka

John Donne (1572–1631)

287

Biathanatos †

Robert Burton (1577–1640)

291

The Anatomy of Melancholy †

John Sym (1581c.–1638)

296

Lifes Preservative Against Self-Killing †

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)

299

Leviathan A Dialogue of the Common Laws of England

Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677)

303

Ethics

Samuel von Pufendorf (1632–1694)

306

Of the Law of Nature and Nations †

John Locke (1632–1704)

309

Second Treatise of Government Of the State of Nature Of Slavery

Samuel Pepys (1633–1703) Diary

312

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Huang Liuhong (1633–c. 1710)

314

A Complete Book Concerning Happiness and Benevolence

North American Indigenous Cultures (documented 1635–1970)

317

Northeast Ojibwa 329 Mrs. Cochran Becoming a Windigo (R. Landes, 1932–1935) Micmac 330 The Gaspesians:Suicide, Shame, and Despair (Chrestien Le Clercq, 1675–1686) Huron 331 Le Jeune’s Relation ( Jean de Brébeuf; Father Paul Le Jeune 1635–1636) The Suicide of Children‡ (Anthony F.C. Wallace, citing LeMercier, 1600s) Iroquois 332 Suicide (Father Joseph François Lafitau, 1712–1717) Suicide of the Widowed (Baron de Lahontan, 1703) The Song of Death (Baron de Lahontan, 1703) Seneca 333 Murder and Suicide‡ (Mrs. Mary Jemison, 1817) The Code of Handsome Lake (Edward Cornplanter, Arthur C.Parker, 1850, 1913) The Suicide as Earthbound ( Jesse Cornplanter) Southeast Cherokee 336 Varieties of Shame:Time of Death, Pollution, and the Disfigurement of Smallpox ( James Adair, 1775) Natchez 338 The Favorite Wife of the Chief Sun ( Jean-Bernard Bossu, 1751–1762) Great Plains Comanche 341 Elderly Persons “Thrown Away” (Ernest Wallace and Edward Adamson Hoebel, 1933, 1945) Suicide from Overwhelming Shame‡ (Edward Adamson Hoebel, 1940) Arapaho 342 The Rarity of Suicide; When the Camp Moved (M. Inez Hilger, 1935–1942) Sioux 343 Suicide among Sioux Women ( John Bradbury, 1809–1811) Cheyenne 343 Two Twists in Battle (Karl N.Llewellyn and Edward Adamson Hoebel, 1941)

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xvii Mandan 346 Smallpox and the End of a Household (Alfred W.Bowers, 1930–1931) Crow 346 Crazy-Dog Wishing to Die (Robert H.Lowie, 1913) The Lowest of the Low‡ (William Wildschut, 1918–1927, 1960) Gros Ventre 348 Singing the ‘Brave-Song’ (Regina Flannery, 1940–1948) Blackfoot 349 Suicide to Avoid Marriage (George Bird Grinnell, 1888) The Sandhills‡ (Adolf Hungry Wolf, 1977) Kit-sta-ka Rejoins her Husband After the Sun Dance (Walter McClintock, 1910)‡ When Wakes-Up-Last Murdered All of his Children (Walter McClintock, 1968)‡ Southwest and The Great Basin Navajo 350 Notes on Navajo Suicide‡ (Leland C.Wyman and Betty Thorne, 1945) The Destination of Witches and Suicides (Leland C.Wyman, W.W. Hill, and Iva Ósanai, 1942) Reasons for Suicide‡ (D. Leighton and C.Kluckhohn, 1947) Ending One’s Life by Wishing to Die (Franc Johnson Newcomb, 1915–1940) Crazy Violence‡ (B. Kaplan and D.Johnson, 1964) Navajo Suicide‡ ( Jerrold E.Levy, 1965) Hopi 351 Making Arrangements for Suicide (Edmund Nequatewa, 1936) How the Hopi Marked the Boundary Line‡ (Edmund Nequatewa, 1936) Girls Going Qövisti (Mischa Titiev, 1932–1940) Ute 353 Postmenopausal Women ( John Wesley Powell, 1867–1880) Pueblo 353 Suicides as Cloud Beings‡ (Elsie Clews Parsons, 1939) Ritual Revenge (Ruth Benedict, 1934) Jicarilla Apache 355 Apache War Customs (M. E.Opler, 1936) Mojave 355 The First Death:Matavilye, and Suicide in Childbirth, Weaning, andTwins (George Devereux, 1961) West and Northwest Coast Pomo 359 Psychological Suicide‡ (B. W.Aginsky, 1934–1935)

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com xviii Contents Wintu and others Suicide in Northeastern California (Erminie W. Voegelin, 1937) Klamath The Stigma of Suicide (Lucy Thompson, 1916) Salish Strained Sex Relations (V. F.Ray, 1928–1930) Suicide by Hanging (W. Cline, 1930) Kwakiutl Shame (Ruth Benedict, 1934) Talkotin Barbarities Practised on Widows (Ross Cox, citing M’Gillivray 1794–1795) Tlingit Holding Others Responsible for Suicide (Aurel Krause, 1881–1882, 1956) Slaves:An Honor to Die at the Master’s Funeral (Albert F.Niblack, 1887) Paying Damages for Suicide (Livingston F.Jones, 1893–1914) Kaska Suicide and Intoxication ( John Joseph Honigmann, 1943–1945)

Daidoji Yuzan (1639–1730)

359 362 362

364 366

367

369

371

Beginner’s Book of Bushido †

Increase Mather (1639–1723)

375

A Call to the Tempted †

Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653–1725)

379

The Love Suicides at Sonezaki

John Adams (1662–1720)

384

An Essay Concerning Self-Murther †

Cotton Mather (1663–1728)

386

Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions

Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

389

A Defense Against the Temptation to Self-Murther

Montesquieu (1689–1755) The Persian Letters Considerations of the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and Their Decline The Spirit of the Laws

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Contents

Voltaire (1694–1778)

396

Philosophical Dictionary †

Caleb Fleming (1698–1779)

400

A Dissertation Upon the Unnatural Crime of Self-Murder †

John Wesley (1703–1791)

403

Thoughts on Suicide

David Hume (1711–1776)

404

Of Suicide Letter to John Home of Ninewells‡

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778)

411

Julie, or the New Heloise †

William Blackstone (1723–1780)

418

Commentaries on the Laws of England

Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d’Holbach (1723–1789)

420

The System ofNature

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)

424

Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals The Metaphysical Principles of Virtue:Man’s Duty to Himself Insofar as He Is an Animal Being† Lectures on Ethics:Duties Towards the Body in Regard to Life

Cesare Beccaria (1738–1794)

433

Of Crimes and Punishments †

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)

435

A Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments in Cases Heretofore Capital‡ Letter to Dr.Samuel Brown

Olaudah Equiano (c. 1745–1797)

437

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself†

Richard Hey (1745–1835)

441

Dissertation on Suicide †

Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) Principles of Penal Law Principles of Judicial Procedure

444

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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)

446

The Sorrows of Young Werther Truth and Poetry: From My Own Life† †

William Godwin (1756–1836)

454

Enquiry Concerning Political Justice Memoirs of the Author of 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman'† †

Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814)

458

The Science of Ethics as Based on the Science of Knowledge †

Ephraim Zalman Margolioth (1762–1828)

462

Bet Efrayim

Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein (1766–1817)

463

On the Influence of the Passions Reflections on Suicide† †

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)

472

Philosophy of Right

Novalis (1772–1801)

473

Novices of Sais †

Jean-Étienne-Dominique Esquirol (1772–1840)

475

Mental Maladies:ATreatise on Insanity †

Rammohun Roy (1774–1833)

480

Translation of a Conference Between an Advocate For, and an Opponent Of, the Practice of Burning Widows Alive

Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859)

486

Essays in Philosophy:On Suicide †

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860)

489

The World as Will and Idea Studies in Pessimism:On Suicide†

Giacomo Leopardi (1798–1837)

494

Dialogue between Plotinus and Porphyry †

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) Autobiography Deaths of Casimir Perier and Georges Cuvier Penal Code for India† Diary, March 8, 1854‡ On Liberty† †

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Forbes Winslow (1810–1874)

508

The Anatomy of Suicide:Can Suicide Be Prevented by LegislativeEnactments?

Karl Marx (1818–1883)

511

Peuchet on Suicide †

Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)

515

Note, Christmas Eve, 1850 Nightingale’s draft novel Draft for Suggestions for Thought to Searchers After Religious Truth Notes on Nursing for the Labouring Classes Note to Benjamin Jowett Reflections on George MacDonald's Novel, Robert Falconer‡ Truth and Feeling Notes on Egypt:Mysticism and Eastern Religions

Oceania Indigenous Cultures (documented 1820–1984)

519

Melanesia Fiji 525 The Principal Wife of the Chief (William Mariner, 1820) Elderly Parents and the Time to Die† (Charles Wilkes, 1845) Deaths of the Old Chief and his Wives (Thomas Williams, 1858) Solomon Islands 529 Tikopian Attitudes Towards Suicide (Raymond Firth, 1967) Papua New Guinea:Kiriwina/The Trobriand Islands 530 Suicide as an Act of Justice Expiation and Insult Jumping from a Palm (Bronislaw Malinowski, 1916, 1926) The Kaliai:Good Death, Bad Death† (David R.Counts and Dorothy Ayers Counts, 1983–1984) Micronesia Guam 534 A Tale of Two Lovers:Tying Their Hair Together (Freycinet, 1819) Chuuk 534 Sea Spirit Spasms‡ (Frank Joseph Mahony, 1950–1968, 1970)

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Polynesia Samoa “Who Will Go With Me?” (George Turner, 1884) Tonga The Love-Sick of Vavau‡ (Basil Thomson, 1886–1891, 1894) Niue Island Traditions of Niue‡ (Edwin M.Loeb, 1926) Pukapuka, Cook Islands After Defeat in Fighting:Burying Oneself Alive† (Ernest Beaglehole and Pearl Beaglehole, 1938) Marquesas The Native Culture in the Marquesas:Coconut Rites for Suicide‡ Marquesan Legends:Tahia-noho-uu‡ (E. S.Craighill Handy, 1920–1930) Mangareva, Gambier Islands Cliff Suicide:The Privilege of Women† (Te Rangi Hiroa [Sir Peter H.Buck], 1938) New Zealand The Maori Myth of Tane and The Myth of Rakuru‡ ( John White, 1887) Maori:Tupu and Mate† ( J. Prtyz Johansen, 1954) The Spirit‡ The Dying Maori Chief and his Old and Young Wives (Frederick Edward Maning, 1922) Hawaii The Secrecy of the Bones of a Chief (Laura C.Green and Martha Warren Beckwith, 1926)

Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881)

535 535

535 536

536

536

537

541

542

The Diary of a Writer†

Robert Ingersoll (1833–1899)

547

Is Suicide a Sin? Colonel Ingersoll’s Reply to His Critics†

A. B.Mitford, Lord Redesdale (1837–1916)

549

An Account of the Hara-Kiri

Arctic Indigenous Cultures (documented 1840–1940) Eskimo of Diomede Island Father and Son (Weyer, 1932)

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Aleut Are the Aleut Prone to Commit Suicide? (Veniaminov, 1840) St. Lawrence Eskimo Notes on Eskimo Patterns of Suicide (Leighton andHughes, 1940) Ingalik Suicide as Shameful or Insane (Osgood, 1937) Copper Eskimo Death Taboos (Rasmussen, 1921–1924) Suicide as Rare ( Jenness, 1913–1918) Eskimo of Cumberland Sound Man’s Two Souls:The Afterlife (Boas, 1883–1884) Caribou Eskimo Moral Rights, Social Obligations (Birket-Smith,1921–1924) Netsilik Eskimo Famine; On the Treatment of the Aged (Rasmussen,1921–1924) Iglulik Eskimo The Moon Spirit Death, and Life in the Land of the Dead Those Who Were Left Behind (Rasmussen, 1921–1924) Hudson Bay Inuit Desertion of Old Women‡ (Turner, 1882–1884, 1889–1890) Eskimo of Baffin Island Theological Questions (Hall, 1860–1862) Tribal Life‡ (Bilby, 1923) Labrador Eskimo Respect for the Aged (Hawkes, 1914) Greenland Eskimo The Old Woman and the Cliff (Nansen, 1893)

Eduard von Hartmann (1842–1906)

559

560

562 563

564 564

565

566

569

569

569 570

570

Philosophy of the Unconscious †

William James (1842–1910)

574

The Principles of Psychology Is Life Worth Living?† †

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) Thus Spake Zarathustra:Voluntary Death The Twilight of the Idols:AMoral for Doctors

580

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African Traditional Sub-Saharan Cultures

584

(documented 1853–)

African Origin Myths Man Desires Death (HansAbrahamsson) Dogon The Souls of the Dogons (Solange de Ganay, 1937–1939) LoDagaa The Day of Death:Restraining the Bereaved to Prevent Suicide ‡ ( Jack Goody, 1962) Akan The Detection of Witches:Ordeal and Punishment Ashanti Law and Constitution:ASuicide’s Trial (Capt. R.S.Rattray, 1929) Funeral Rites for Babies and Kings (Capt. R.S.Rattray, 1923–1927,1929) The Price of Intrigue with Women of Royal Blood (A.B. Ellis, 1887) Fante Killing Oneself “Upon the Head of Another”:The Tragedy of AdjuahAmissah (Brodie Cruickshank, 1853) Gã The Prohibition of Death‡ (M.J. Field, 1937) Ewe The Criminality of Suicide (A.B. Ellis, 1890) Yoruba The Kings of the Yoruba (Samuel Johnson, 1897) Yoruba Laws and Customs:Suicide (A.K. Ajisafe, 1924) Igbo Evil Spirits (Northcote W.Thomas, 1913) Sacrifices, Death, and Burial‡ ( G.T.Basden, 1938) A Murderer Must Hang Himself An Old Woman’s Prearranged Funeral (G.T.Basden, 1921) Zulu The Timely Death Godusa:The Old Woman and the Ant-bear’s Hole (R.C. A.Samuelson, 1929) Ukugodusa:The First Woman Who Became a Christian (L.H. Samuelson, 1912) The Burial of a King (R.C. A.Samuelson, 1929)

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595 596

596 598

604

605

605 605

611

613

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Banyoro The Ghost of a Suicide Dinka The Folktale of the Four Truths‡ Burial Alive:The Master of the Fishing-Spear

618 619

Hindu Widow, Anonymous (1889)

622

The Plight of Hindu Widows as Described by a Widow Herself †

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)

626

The Psychopathology of Everyday Life Contributions to a Discussion on Suicide‡ Mourning and Melancholia‡ The Psychogenesis of a Case of Homosexuality in a Woman The Economic Problem of Masochism ‡

Emile Durkheim (1858–1917)

630

Suicide †

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935)

634

The Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman Suicide Note, August 17, 1935‡ The Right to Die† †

Mohandas K.Gandhi (1869–1948)

637

Indian Home Rule An Autobiography:The Story of My Experiments with Truth Non-Violence in Peace and War

Alfred Adler (1870–1937)

642

Suicide

Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) Letters†

646

John Haynes Holmes (1879–1964)

649

Is Suicide Justifiable? †

Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)

653

Mrs. Dalloway A Room of One’s Own† Journal, May 15, 1941 Letter to Leonard Woolf ‡

Paul Tillich (1886–1965) The Courage to Be

657

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Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)

659

Notebooks 1914–1916 Letters

Mao Zedong (1893–1976)

662

The Suicide of Miss Zhao †

Szmul Zygielbojm (1895–1943)

670

Letter to the President and Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland

Paul-Louis Landsberg (1901–1944)

672

The Moral Problem of Suicide †

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945)

681

Ethics:The Last Things and the Things Before the Last †

Albert Camus (1913–1960)

684

The Myth of Sisyphus Notebooks 1935–1951‡ †

Japanese Naval Special Attack Force (Kamikaze Corps) (b. 1920s, d. 1944/45)

688

Kamikaze Diaries Last Letters Home (1944–1945)†

Murtaza Mutahhari (1920–1979)

695

The Martyr:On Jihad, Suicide and Martyrdom†

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–)

699

Vietnam:Lotus in a Sea of Fire:In Search of the Enemy of Man

Mary Rose Barrington (1926–)

702

Apologia for Suicide †

Daniel Callahan (1930–)

706

Reason, Self-determination, and Physician-Assisted Suicide†

Peter Y. Windt (1938–)

711

What Counts as Suicide? It's Not So Easy to Say Alphabetical List of Authors and Sources

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Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com INTRODUCTION The Ethics of Suicide Is suicide wrong, always wrong, or profoundly morally wrong? Or is it almost always wrong but excusable in a few cases? Or is it sometimes morally permissible? Is it not intrinsically wrong at all, though perhaps often imprudent? Is it sick? Is it a matter of mental illness? Is it a private or a social act? Is it something the family, community, or society should always try to prevent, or could ever expect of a person? Could it sometimes be a “noble duty”? Or is it solely a personal matter, perhaps a matter of right based in individual liberties, or even a fundamental human right? This spectrum of views about the ethics of ending one’s own life—from the view that doing so is profoundly morally wrong, the gravest of sins, to the view that it is a matter of basic human right, and from the view that it is primarily a private matter to the view that it is largely a social one—lies at the root of contemporary practical controversies over how we die. These practical, often overlapping controversies include at least six specific issues of historical and contemporary salience: • physician-assisted suicide in terminal illness, the focus of intense debate in parts of the world with long life expectancies and high-tech medical systems, particularly the Netherlands, the United States, the U.K., Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and Australia; • hunger strikes and suicides of social protest, as in Turkey, Northern Ireland, wartime Vietnam, China, Tibet under Chinese rule, and the Middle East following the 2010 self-immolation of a Tunisian fruit vendor that touched off the “Arab Spring”; • self-sacrifice and martyrdom, often distinguished from suicide, a distinction drawn in differing places in different religious traditions; • religious and ritual practices that lead to death (especially sati or widow-burning, harakiri or ritual disembowelment, and ritual “fasting unto death,” called samadhi, santhara, or sallekhana, as sometimes practiced in Jain and other communities in India); • suicides of honor or loyalty, ranging from the voluntary deaths of a king’s wives and retainers in many traditional cultures to deaths of shame or support for a superior; and • suicide bombings and related forms of self-destruction employed as military, guerilla, or terrorist tactics, including kamikazi attacks in wartime Japan, suicide missions by groups from Tamil separatists to al-Qaeda, and suicide bombings in the conflicts in Israel, Palestine, Iraq, and elsewhere. Beneath these specific practical issues lies the question of the role a person may play in his or her own death. The focus here is on self-caused death, or suicide, and how it should be regarded from an ethical point of view. This collection of primary sources, in both the bound volume and the associated Digital Archive, is intended to facilitate exploration of such current practical issues by exhibiting the astonishingly diverse range of thinking about suicide throughout human intellectual history, in its full range of cultures and traditions. This collection has no interest in taking sides in these debates; rather, it hopes to expand the character of the rather linear recent debates on issues like physician-assisted suicide, s­ uicide in social protest, and suicide bombing by making

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The Ethics of Suicide

them, as it were, multidimensional. This is what a rich acquaintance with history and the diversity of cultures brings. For much of the 20th and on into the 21st century, at least in the West and in regions affected by Western colonialism, thinking about suicide has been normatively monolithic. Suicide has come to be seen by the public, and particularly by health professionals, as primarily a matter of mental illness, perhaps compounded by biochemical and genetic factors and by social stressors, the sad result of depression or other, often treatable, diseases—a tragedy to be prevented. With the exception of the debate over suicide in terminal illness, also called “aid-in-dying” or “death with dignity,” the only substantive discussions about suicide in contemporary Western culture have concerned whether access to psychotherapy, improved suicide-prevention programs, or more effective antidepressant medications should form the principal lines of defense. Indeed, suicide very often is a tragedy, and depression or other mental illness is often in play. However, a full exploration of historical and cross-cultural thought concerning suicide must also explore the many additional ways in which the phenomenon of self-destruction has also been understood—some of them bizarre, many of them profound. A full exploration seeks to broaden the current largely monolithic view, not replace it, and to provide a much wider context for understanding contemporary issues about a person’s role in his or her own death. This volume and the associated Digital Archive are intended as a comprehensive sourcebook, a collection of primary texts covering as fully as possible the immense range of thinking about the ethics of suicide in both the Western and non-Western traditions, as well as in both literate and oral cultures—in short, the full range of human discussion and dispute that leads up to current times. It is particularly concerned with philosophical reflection on the morality of suicide. This takes many different forms:some texts are lengthy and discursive scholarly expositions; other texts involve vivid stories with implicit rather than explicit messages; some are firsthand accounts; others are secondary observations; some are exploratory; others are didactic or admonitory; and so on. There is a rich diversity here in the kinds of materials ­presented, as there is in the eras and cultures from which they come.

The History of Reflection on Suicide The Western record of discussion and dispute about the morality of suicide begins almost four millennia ago with a rather personal dialogue between a man and his soul, a dialogue dating from the Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt. Writing on suicide continues with the early Hebrew texts that record—without ethical comment—a handful of figures who caused their own deaths, among them Samson (who pulled the temple down upon himself, as well as the Philistines), Saul, and Saul’s armor bearer. In a different culture, ancient Greece, Plato developed a somewhat inchoate classification of acceptable and unacceptable suicides, including those subject to burial restrictions (like the Athenian practice of burying the hand apart) and those that were not; Aristotle took suicide generally to damage the state. In the following centuries, the Greek and Roman Stoics came to celebrate suicide as the act of the wise man, while the Christian church fathers, like the Jewish rabbis, though developing teachings that celebrated martyrdom, at the same time increasingly vigorously condemned suicide as sin; this view solidified during the period from Augustine through the time of Thomas Aquinas. Some Enlightenment writers defended suicide; some Romantic writers glorified it; and still others, like some Protestant clergy in 18th century America, denounced it in the most vitriolic terms. What is remarkable is the huge

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variety of accounts these writers give, both religious and secular, of what makes suicide wrong, or ethically neutral, or right. Debate in the Western tradition continued apace until roughly the time of Durkheim and Freud at the beginning of the 20th century, with their respective theories of suicide as socially conditioned and as pathological. These thinkers in effect silenced the ethical debate, since they saw suicide as socially or psychiatrically caused rather than chosen. This laid the foundation for the view that, if suicide is not voluntarily chosen in any robust sense, it cannot be said to be culpable—not morally wrong, not sinful, and not criminal. Although debate over individual responsibility for suicide still continues, it has until recently been largely obscured by the dominant professional view that suicide is a product of mental illness, committed by people in the grip of depression or other psychopathology, hence incapable of reasoning clearly, and that, therefore, there really is no ethical issue here. At the same time, however, views about self-caused and self-willed death have been evolving in Asia and the Middle East, beginning with ancient Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, and Islam, in India, early China, Southeast Asia, and Japan. These views have been carried forward within different religious and cultural traditions, often modified and intensified, but nevertheless each typically preserving a characteristic, unique, and fundamental ethical stance. In addition, over long spans of time, oral cultures in the Arctic, Africa, Oceania, and North, Central, and South America have been evolving, often including practices involving suicide and related forms of self-caused, self-willed death. From the practices of these cultures, it is possible to infer (though such inferences always involve a considerable degree of conjecture) the background normative views on which they rest. These views, and the practices in which they are exhibited, are often strikingly different from those of the literate cultures of the East and the West. To be sure, reliance on historical accounts is far more problematic in oral traditions than it is in literate cultures that are able to preserve firsthand documents over long periods of time. For traditional oral cultures, contact with indigenous practices concerning suicide and the background worldviews and belief systems in which they are embedded is, to a considerable degree, filtered through Western eyes, since the written records from which the views of oral cultures can be distilled have become available only with the incursion of explorers, missionaries, conquistadores, adventurers, and amateur ethnographers, themselves largely from Western cultures. Just the same, the older sources from these cultures are invaluable since, despite their distortions, they depict societies comparatively innocent of Westernized attitudes about suicide. Of course, it cannot be assumed that views of all the members of the various eras and cultures about suicide, whether in Western, Eastern, or traditional oral cultures, were or are alike. Cultures are rarely homogenous groups, but rather living collections of people whose views may differ considerably, though they may appear uniform when contrasted with the views of members of other cultures.

The Evolution of Views and Practices over Time This collection is organized chronologically, even though dating, particularly of early texts, is often imprecise, and the identities of authors and sources are unclear. Chronological organization makes it possible to trace the development of thought about the morality of suicide in a culture over time. One might examine, for example, the development of thinking in Judaism,

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The Ethics of Suicide

from the Hebrew Bible and its origins in the 12th–9th centuries b.c., through Josephus in the 1st century a.d., to the rabbinic writers and the Babylonian Talmud of the 3rd–6th centuries a.d., to the 10th-century Karaite writer Ya’qub al-Qirqisani, the Tosafist writers of the 12th– 14th centuries, and on to Luria in the 16th century, Margoliouth in the 19th, and Szmul Zygielbojm in the 20th, whose wrenching suicide note in May of 1943 offers his own death in protest against the Allies’ indifference to the evolving holocaust for Polish Jews. Or one might examine the Japanese tradition, beginning with Daidoji Yuzan’s portrait of medieval Japan’s Bushido military and chivalric culture; then Chikamatsu’s plays and the developing tradition of love-suicide; then Lord Redesdale’s account of hara-kiri; and finally the letters from kamikaze pilots written just before their final missions in World War II. Or one might explore the entwined traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, beginning with the ancient Vedas and Upanishads of the 15th–5th centuries b.c.; the Dharmashastra law codes of the 7th century b.c. to the 1st century a.d.; the writings associated with the Buddha’s contemporary Mahavira, revered as the founder of Jainism; the Questions of King Milinda, an interchange between the Indo-Greek king Menander and the Buddhist monk Nagasena, dating from roughly 100 b.c. to 200 a.d.; the Lotus Sutra, composed sometime during the first several centuries a.d.; Bana from the late 6th century–early 7th century a.d.; an anonymous late 19th-century Hindu widow describing sati or widow-burning; and on to figures of the 20th and 21st century, Gandhi and Thich Nhat Hanh. Evolving concerns address (although in quite different ways) self-sacrifice as a form of social protest; self-immolation as a form of political protest; and the survival of the ancient Jain tradition of elective death in the form of ritual self-starvation, often in the modern context of terminal illness. These are long and rich traditions of reflection on this issue. Although the various historical traditions initially developed independently, they came to interact and often mirror each other over time. For example, reflection on suicide within Judaism began long before the development of Christianity, but in the Talmudic period and during the Middle Ages, Judaism’s view of suicide appears to have evolved in part in tandem with that of Christianity; both exhibited an intensifying condemnation and prohibition of suicide, even though the specific details never fully coincided. Islam first arose several centuries after the view that suicide is almost always wrong had pervaded both Christianity and Judaism; Islam’s view remained comparatively uniform over time. But such mirroring is rarely perfect. While Islam’s repudiation of suicide in many ways parallels that of Judaism and Christianity, the distinctions these three traditions each draw between suicide and martyrdom may seem to fall in somewhat different places. Meanwhile, in the Far East, the evolution of Hindu spirituality and its fusion with Buddhist views about the illusoriness of life affected thinking about suicide in Confucian China, and in turn contributed to the Bushido tradition of medieval Japan that lionized suicide, which in turn played a major role in Japan’s military tactics in World War II. In still other areas of the globe, late medieval Catholic attitudes about the sinfulness of suicide were brought to the central and southern parts of the New World by Spanish conquistadores and the missionaries who traveled with them, while Protestant attitudes—no more tolerant of the sin they saw in suicide than were Catholic ­attitudes—were imported into Africa, India, North America, and other places c­ olonized largely by Protestant nations. The chronological organization of this collection also makes it possible to see one individual writer’s engagement with practices of another culture, as for instance the 19th-century German

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idealist philosopher Schopenhauer’s celebration of the practice of fasting unto death that had developed in Jainism. It also makes it possible to observe one author’s or one culture’s distortions of the views of another, as for instance Lactantius’ exaggerations of the views of Roman Stoics or al-Ghazali’s dismissive account of Hindu practices, as well as the extraordinary exaggerations of Christian conquerors and colonizers about the practices of peoples they subdued. Chronological reflection on suicide is not easily accomplished, however, with respect to texts from oral cultures. It is usually impossible to determine in a reliable way the duration or scope of the views of the culture described. The texts themselves are often fragmentary or erratically preserved. And there is the ubiquitous problem of cultural overlay by foreign observers. Consequently, these selections are grouped together, entered in the chronological listing by the date of the earliest report. This permits at least a partial view of the range of beliefs and practices within a culture or a group of cultures, though they are filtered through the eyes of outside observers, the only sources available. It also makes it easier to see something of the philosophical assumptions concerning suicide prevalent in the intruding cultures, and hence easier to interpret Western texts written at about the same time. Although the texts of all traditions, both Western and non-Western, require interpretation, and though all texts can pose problems for readers from other cultures, the records of oral cultures require a double inference, both in extrapolating from practices described to the views that may have motivated them, and in subtracting as much as possible the overlay of Western, alien ideology (including its racist, sexist, and paternalist attitudes about “inferior” or “infantile” cultures) that also shapes such accounts. For this reason, an effort has been made to use the oldest accounts of an oral culture’s beliefs and practices, not only because they are temporally closer to pre-contact times but also because the ideological overlay—since it comes from an earlier period of Western history and is thus more evident to contemporary eyes—may be easier to subtract. In any case, whether in continuing oral traditions or in early observers’ accounts, there is no “pure” version of these views—and yet they represent some of the most varied, interesting, and challenging of those available. A second partial exception to the chronological organization of this volume occurs with respect to cultures with highly sophisticated oral traditions capable of preserving material with considerable accuracy over long periods of time—early Islam, for example— so that the date of composition of written texts like the Quran and the Hadiths may be several centuries later than the actual genesis of the material. Further complicating the chronological presentation of sources, many significant texts are no longer extant, including not only individual works like Plutarch’s On the Soul, but virtually the entire corpus of a culture (as, e.g., all but three Mayan codices destroyed at the time of Western contact, all but one copy of disapproved books burned under the Qin dynasty, and almost the entire libraries of Baghdad and Nalanda). It is of course not possible to include all texts from all authors, at all times, in all cultures; this would fill libraries. However, some of the authors included in this volume are allies here, themselves providing quite rich surveys of the then-known previous literature. John Donne does this for Western religious literature; Montaigne does this for secular, classical literature; and many other authors discuss and critique earlier works in the traditions within which they wrote. The unmeetable challenge of including everything of interest within the covers of a single bound volume is to some degree mitigated by the associated online Digital Archive; but even so, there are many authors and traditions that have not yet been discovered here. Reflection

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The Ethics of Suicide

about self-caused death is something that has occupied thinkers in virtually every culture, and, given its saliency in medical practice, military action, social protest, and self-sacrifice, will no doubt continue to do so.

Conceptual Issues:Similarities and Differences among Traditions There are many apparent parallels in thinking about suicide. For example, Greek and Roman Stoics saw suicide as rational and sensible in certain sorts of circumstances, as did the Bushido tradition in Japan; so have many indigenous cultures in the Americas, Oceania, and Africa, where dying to accompany one’s king or lord into the afterlife, or to keep the sun in its course, or to minimize the economic burden of the elderly in an economically marginal society was deemed the appropriate, rational thing to do. Of course, these are loose parallels, and there are many differences among these traditions’ views as well. It is important to remain sensitive to background differences in cultural assumptions about metaphysical, epistemological, and religious issues, as well as quite different systems of morality, even while noting striking parallels among texts and practices. Nevertheless, similar elements and common problems are numerous, even across distant traditions. For example, for some traditions, like early and Talmudic Judaism, the early Christianity of St. Ignatius and later Christian theologians, and both traditional and contemporary Islam, the line between suicide and martyrdom—one prohibited, the other permitted and indeed celebrated—is very finely drawn, though in subtly different ways. Similarly, the line between the desire to die and suicide is also very finely drawn; this is true for writers from St. Paul and Angela of Foligno to Gandhi. Some writers and cultures think it ignoble to die in bed, deteriorating from illness: for the Vikings, the Yoruba, Bushido warriors, and Iglulik Inuit, death by violence, including death by suicide, is the more noble way. Then, too, writers in very different cultures have been concerned with quelling fashions for suicide: Plutarch, for example, describes an ingenious method of stopping the fad among the maidens of Miletus; similarly, Huang Liu-hung, a 17th-century provincial Chinese administrator, and Caleb Fleming, a fiercely conservative “dissenting” 18th-century English divine, both think exposing the naked body of a suicide in a public place is the most effective deterrent; so too the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, who spoke of shaming by public hanging of the body of “every self-murderer, Lord or peasant,” though he did not insist that the body be unclothed. On the other hand, some writers and playwrights have been accused of fomenting fashions for suicide (Chikamatsu and Goethe, for instance) whether for thwarted love or to avoid descent into an ordinary, mundane existence. Roman generals, Japanese warriors, inhabitants of the Cook Islands in Polynesia, and kamikaze pilots have been alike in seeing military defeat as an occasion for suicide. Cultures in China, Africa, native North America, the Inca empire, Viking-controlled northern Europe, and pre-colonial and colonial India have seen suicide and/ or voluntary submission to being killed as an appropriate part of funerary customs, especially for wives and retainers of kings and nobles. Although such parallels are never exact, they are nevertheless instructive. There are conceptual similarities and differences among traditions as well. The distinctions between killing and letting die, between self-killing and being killed, between being killed at one’s request and killing oneself, or between self-killing and provoking another into killing oneself make an enormous difference in some cultures (Judaism, Christianity,

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Introduction

Islam) but little in others (Viking culture, Buddhism). Politically motivated suicide may look very different in the East than in the West, partly because political systems are so different and partly because assumptions about what a person would accomplish by selfsacrifice or suicide are different. Different authors and cultures have sharply different views about whether concerns about the impact of a suicide on surviving family members or one’s society are important. Some think suicide is largely an individual matter (for example, the Roman philosopher Seneca, who in his famous Letter 70 wrote that “Every man ought to make his life acceptable to others besides himself, but his death to himself alone,” and PaulLouis Landsberg, who died in the Oranienburg concentration camp in 1943). For others (like those in kin-based societies, where the suicide of a young or middle-aged person breaks up social networks but the suicide of an elderly person who has ceased to play such roles does not), suicide is a social issue. The scope of suicide prohibitions also varies widely, as does the matter of whether exceptions are ever to be made. Then there are group suicides (the mass suicide at Masada described by Josephus, or the ritual self-disembowelment of the 47 Ronins, mass suicides of Japanese troops in the face of defeat in WWII, or even the ultimate mass suicide of the whole human race imagined by Novalis and by Eduard von Hartmann). There are suicides of protest and social protest in many times and places and for many politically diverse reasons: Lucretia, Cato, Thich Quang Duc, and Yukio Mishima. Contemporary hunger strikers, suicide bombers, and those who immolate themselves to defend political or religious freedom may also belong in these categories. In some cultures, especially in Africa, suicide is often understood as revenge; in others, it is conceptualized primarily as altruistic, even when some self-killings are clearly egocentric; in some, it is understood as a matter of individual choice, however socially plausible the choice of death in that person’s specific circumstances may seem to be. Tracing these similarities and parallels is invited by this collection, but at the same time, the recognition of huge and often very subtle differences among authors and cultures is also encouraged.

Definition and Linguistic Issues To note such similarities and differences raises the issue of definition: exactly what counts as suicide? Some definitions are extremely narrow; they count only cases in which a person has knowingly and voluntarily acted in a way that directly and intentionally caused his or her own death, with the intention that death result; others are more flexible, including cases of semiintentional self-killing, semi-accidental self-killing, self-harm that results in the extinction of cognitive capacities though not the physical body, extreme asceticism that results in death, high-risk exploration, sports and other self-endangering activities, self-killing in which the person acts knowingly and voluntarily but does not want to die or wants to achieve some other goal, and so on. It can be argued that terminological differences often serve to mark views about the morality of self-killing in various circumstances or for various reasons, and that the wide range of terms used in cases of voluntary, knowing causation of one’s own death serves this purpose. “Suicide” is normally differentiated (in English) from “self-sacrifice,” “martyrdom,” “acquiescence in death,” “aid-in-dying,” “victim-precipitated homicide,” “self-deliverance,” and a variety of other terms, but the primary texts, providing the original wording, invite attention to the subtleties of these differences. Then too some authors employ unconventional definitions

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The Ethics of Suicide

of suicide: for example, Lactantius’ insistence that the death of Cato, the Stoic example par excellence of praiseworthy suicide, was actually a homicide; Mao Zedong’s view that the death of Miss Zhao, a young peasant woman in 1919 China who slit her own throat rather than submit to an arranged marriage, was actually murder; but also, equally unconventional, John Donne’s claim that the death of Jesus Christ, the Christian example par excellence of an unjust ­execution, was actually a suicide. Linguistic issues also arise in attempts to refer to the performance of the act of suicide. The expression “commit suicide” has been common; contemporary suicidologists typically use a variety of less stigmatizing alternatives, including “suicided,” “completed suicide,” and “died by suicide.” Depending on the background view of the ethics of suicide, these variant descriptions disguise much—or disguise little. Problems of definition also arise as a product of translation from one language to another. Just as English had no unique term for suicide until the mid-1600s, when, for example, Walter Charleton used it in his Ephesian and Cimmerian Matrons (“to vindicate ones self from extream, and otherwise inevitable Calamity, by Sui-cide is not [certainly] a Crime, but an act of Heroique Fortitude”), many other languages refer to this phenomenon in different ways. Greek, Latin, and other European languages did not have an explicit, unique term for suicide, though they had a wide variety of locutions. While English has just one principal term for it, “suicide,” German has four:“Selbstmord,” “Selbsttötung,” “Suizid,” and “Freitod,” the first three of which have varyingly negative or neutral connotations, but the fourth of which has generally positive ones; this means that German speakers can talk about suicide in a range of ways that English speakers cannot. Wider exploration would no doubt reveal differences among other languages as well. Issues of definition are also important in examining the practices of traditional cultures. The only available early reports of practices in oral cultures, especially those made by clerics, conquistadores, and others not trained in ethnography, may distort the meanings of native words considerably. For example, in the Seneca myth called the Code of Handsome Lake, Edward Cornplanter speaks of “sin” and of the “Great Spirit”; these are probably imported concepts and mistranslations influenced by European sources, even if there is no adequate correct translation in English. On the other hand, some traditional practices that are not apparently conceptualized as suicide might meet contemporary Western definitions, insofar as they involve the knowing and voluntary taking of an action intended to bring about one’s own death. For example, the traditional practice of the Gã people of western Africa of holding individuals accountable for dying at times or in ways that are impermissible suggests that these deaths are understood as a matter of voluntary choice. So are the sallekhana or santhara deaths by ritual fasting that form the central austerity of the Jains, said to be practiced over 200 times a year in contemporary India. These are not understood as suicide by the group in question but might well be by outside observers, as for instance in court challenges to the practice in contemporary India on the grounds that it is a “social evil” and a violation of Indian law prohibiting suicide. Then again, some practices that are apparently conceptualized as suicide and, given the group’s beliefs, would meet common Western definitional criteria are nevertheless strikingly at odds with Western categories, such as the Mohave belief that stillborn infants are suicides, beings who (knowingly) surveyed the world into which they were about to be born but (voluntarily and deliberately) decided against it.

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Introduction

Negative Cases This sourcebook also tries to recognize—though to do so exhaustively would prove impossible—the significance of negative cases: the writings or accounts of individuals who did not consider suicide (like Angela of Foligno) though it might have been a plausible consequence of their reasoning; or who were urged toward suicide but did not do it (like Job, taunted by his wife); of authors who did not discuss it or address it directly (especially John Stuart Mill, who, given his views about liberty and impairment, could have been expected to do so far more fully than in his few scattered remarks); of texts where it is hinted at, if at all, only by implication (Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus); of cultures (e.g., the Tiv of central Africa) where it was apparently not practiced; and religious traditions where it was barely mentioned at all (e.g., Shinto, although it coexisted with Bushido culture). This is a tricky matter but an important one if the full range of thought about suicide is to be displayed. What is not thought, not done, and not said about this issue can play an immense role in reflection and action about life and death as well.

The Bases of Analysis Among the many issues raised by the full range of views on suicide is the question of the bases of analysis. This collection focuses on the ethical issues in suicide, but there are substantial differences in just what it is that is to be assessed. Is it the act itself that is the focus of normative assessment? Is it the intention under which it is done? Is it the pattern of behavior or cultural tradition within which it occurs? Is it the outcome of the act, its effects on other individuals or social groups, and if so, how broad is the scope of these effects? Issues concerning the bases of analysis challenge traditional classifications used in the assessment of ethical issues in suicide. Of particular importance in this collection is the fact that no attempt has been made to differentiate what Durkheim understood as societally caused “institutional” suicide from the sorts of suicide usually understood under the label “suicide” in Western, professional contexts—roughly, between suicide expected in certain circumstances as a normal part of the practices of a culture, as distinct from suicide that is conceptualized as the individual’s own idiosyncratic act, whether reasoned or the product of mental illness or psychopathology. The sources in this collection clearly reveal that the line between “institutional” and “individual” suicide is not nearly as sharp as is often assumed, and that even in the anomic modern industrial cultures of which Durkheim spoke, individuals respond to quite subtle societal expectations. The West has seen only a few clear examples of what it recognizes as institutional suicide:the expectation that the Prussian army officer unable to pay his gambling debts kill himself, for example, or that the captain go down with his ship. Yet the expectation of, say, early Christianity that martyrdom is to be sought, or of Romantic culture (evident in Goethe’s Werther) that suicide may be preferable to a life of ordinariness may not seem institutional at all until examined against the broader backdrop of contrasting eras and cultures. Issues of the bases of analysis are also involved in differentiating between suicide and euthanatic suicide, suicide and protest suicide, religiously motivated and ritual suicide, suicide and tactical suicide, or sorting out suicide by causes or motives like despair or revenge. They are also relevant in discerning differences in views of suicide as pathological—Hippocrates’ account of suicide in premenstrual dysphoric disorder, for example, or Sophocles’ portrait of the mad ravings of Ajax and his subsequent remorse, or Burton’s

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The Ethics of Suicide

portrait of the anatomy of melancholy. They are relevant in understanding the enormous variation in ways that suicide can be conceptualized as understandable, noble, or indeed praiseworthy, as in Thich Nhat Hanh’s description of the suicide of the monk Thich Giac Thanh, which, like that of Thich Quang Duc and other Buddhist monks and nuns protesting the Diem regime during the Vietnam War, involved deliberate self-immolation. Their acts are portrayed as deaths of principle, a difficult act but one undertaken in a fully reflective, thoughtful, aware way, one with deep roots in the Buddhist tradition, and one in which psychopathology plays no role. Nevertheless, the term “suicide” is rejected, even though these self-immolations are undertaken knowingly, deliberately, with extensive prior training and preparation, and with full awareness of the consequences. Mao’s account of Miss Zhao is also one of resistance to an abusive society: is it a pathological suicide, a protest suicide, or what? Or is it resistance that simply takes the wrong form? In Mao’s view, Miss Zhao should not have killed herself but stayed alive to join the revolutionary effort. A selection from the Islamic jihad tradition poses the issue of tactical suicide in a contemporary light; it too illuminates the earlier distinction between suicide and martyrdom drawn in Islam since its beginning, and raises the issue of whether this distinction has been distorted for political ends. Two selections from the early days of contemporary Western bioethics sketch some of the very extensive argumentation played out in the ferment over physician-assisted suicide, one from an English defender of rational suicide and “planned death,” the barrister Mary Rose Barrington, and one from an American opponent, the bioethicist Daniel Callahan. In the writings of both, the tensions between autonomous choice and the finality of terminal illness, as well as risk of abuse, play a real role. That the issue at hand is now frequently referred to not as “suicide” but as “assisted dying,” “aid-in-dying,” or “death with dignity” points not only to political strategy but also to questions about the bases of analysis and the deeper philosophical issues such a practice raises. The final selection, from an American philosopher using a Wittgensteinian form of analysis, emphasizes the complexity of the term “suicide” itself and makes it clear that this label alone cannot provide a firm foundation for moral judgments. Even in the seemingly most isolated cases, the act of suicide is necessarily connected with background views about the meaning of death, the value of life, the relationship between the individual and the community, the nature of suffering, the significance of punishment, the existence of an afterlife, the nature of the self, and many other deep philosophical questions. The issue of suicide challenges all of these. As Camus is so often quoted, “There is but one truly philosophical question, and that is the issue of suicide.” Just one thing is clear. Afull understanding of suicide cannot start with the assumption that all suicide is pathological, that it can almost always be attributed to depression or mental illness, that it is a matter of biochemical abnormality, that it is always wrong, or that there are no real ethical issues about suicide. These views are to be explored, not presupposed. To be sure, the history of reflection on the ethics of suicide will be a continuing history, as cultural conceptions of suicide and related issues like self-sacrifice, heroism, social protest, self-deliverance, martyrdom, and so on in each of these contexts evolve, but, in an increasingly global world in which once-independent traditions interact more and more fully and in the process shape and reshape each other, it is important to be able to view the deeper roots of these issues. Margaret Pabst Battin Salt Lake City, Utah, 2015

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Notes on the Preparation of this Edition

In a project of this scope, comprehensiveness must be balanced with selectiveness, and significance assessed in various ways. The texts themselves are drawn as much as possible from original sources. The print volume from Oxford University Press necessarily involves disciplined, even draconian editing; fuller versions of many of these texts are available in the Digital Archive for this volume hosted by the University of Utah J. Willard Marriott Library at . Some selections are available in the Digital Archive only, and are so indicated in the table of contents and the introductory material for each author or cultural group. Except where otherwise indicated, material in the general introduction, in the author-specific biographical introductions, and in the source references covers both the excerpted texts in the print volume and the full-length selections in the Digital Archive. In general, the biographical material is drawn from and crossconfirmed with the principal general and specialized encyclopedic and reference works in the relevant fields, reviewed and revised in collaboration with the Consulting Editors. Authorship Authors of texts included in this collection are identified with dates and modest biographical information. This information varies in degree of detail in approximate relation to the importance of the figure or the text. However, especially for early and for non-Western texts, authorship is sometimes unknown, inexact, or only traditional (e.g., Hippocrates is the traditional, but not actual, author of the Hippocratic Oath; Confucius is the traditional, but not actual, author of The Book of Filial Piety). Particular attention is given to authors whose writings on suicide have been central in their own thought and/or influential in subsequent discussion of suicide. The volume attempts to achieve a balance between familiar, ordinary, and sometimes banal things said by significant figures and interesting, original things said by obscure figures. Given a particular way of thinking about suicide, who thinks it is, in some cases, as important as what is thought. Chronology and Dating of Sources Sources are entered in the chronological listings of this collection by the birthdate of the author or, when there is no identifiable author, the date of the text. Some exceptions are made, and chronological ordering—though for the most part effective—does present some challenges, particularly with older or non-Western texts. For example, chronological presentation of texts by the author’s birthdate does not always reflect the chronology of the composition of the texts or the chronology of the author’s influence on surrounding or subsequent discussion. While traditions such as Judaism and Buddhism are entered by the approximate dates of the earliest written texts, these dates are often extremely inexact. Birthdates are unclear or unknown for some figures (among others, Ignatius of Antioch and Ibn Fadlan); in these cases, chronological listing is by assumed approximate birthdate. Later texts within a tradition that has developed over an extended period are sometimes accumulated under an earlier entry if directly contiguous in content to it; this is true of Jainism and with some of the Talmudic commentaries. When there are discrepancies between traditional dates and historically documented dates, courtesy to a tradition has sometimes prevailed (e.g., the date 632 A.D. [the date of Muhammad’s death] is the date traditionally

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The Ethics of Suicide

cited as the beginning of Islam, although scholarly evidence suggests that the earliest material for the Quran and for Muhammad’s autobiography is no earlier than the 690s, and Islam does not emerge as a full theological and legal tradition until the 800s). Within groupings of oral cultures, which are generally classified by region, cultural or tribal identity, or language group, the assignment of dates in an ongoing chronology is even more problematic. Although the grouping itself is entered in the overall chronology by the date of the earliest text, within a grouping the texts are sometimes arranged by content, often so that myth-related material is first, then descriptions of “the old-ways,” followed by descriptions of then-current practices. The dating of these texts does not necessarily reflect the beginnings or development of particular practices, or beliefs within a group; rather, they reflect the date of recorded c­ ontact with outside observers. Identification and Nomenclature Identification of sources and authors in the Western, largely European tradition is generally unproblematic. However, for non-Western texts and reports from traditional oral cultures, identification and groupings of texts are made in a variety of ways. Many different systems are in use:Oceanic cultures are usually labeled geographically (by the name of the island or by the name of the people); early European cultures by ethnicity (e.g., Viking); sub-Saharan African cultures by language group; and Central and South American cultures by political society (Aztec, Maya, Inca). In some cases, early ethnographic research has been done in ways that reflect ethnic or linguistic distinctions that, in light of modern findings about genetic relationships among peoples or linguistic changes, are no longer tenable. In general, the identification of groups in this volume seeks to achieve balance among familiarity of conventional ways of identifying cultures, respect for preferences of current members of those cultures about identifying labels, and consistency among cultures. In general, a group’s currently preferred name is used as a heading (e.g., Inuit), while usage of the source texts (e.g., Eskimo) is retained in the sources themselves. Nomenclatures, both popular and scientific, are often confusing and change over time. For example, all of the following have been used to name Western hemisphere groups: Indians, New World Indians, indigenous peoples, First Peoples, First Nations, Native Americans, MesoAmericans, and Amerindians. Although there are some differences among the meanings of these terms, they are frequently used interchangeably; the practice in this volume is to try to minimize confusion. Nomenclature may also differ as a function of religious identity. For example, a body of text originating in the Middle East from the 12th through the 9th ­century b.c. and on, though scriptural for all three of the major monotheist religious groups, is called “The Bible,” “The Hebrew Bible,” or (for its first five books) “The Pentateuch” by Jews; “The Old Testament” by Catholics (this label includes the Apocrypha), and “The Old Testament and Apocrypha” by Protestants. In general, the treatment of religious texts in this collection employs the names used by originating groups. Finally, not only does this volume seek to avoid crude generalizations about cultures and to recognize that the various members of a culture may exhibit a wide range of individual views, but it also recognizes that the ways in which various cultures and individuals within them refer to each other and to each others’ beliefs and practices are at times not generous; such prejudices are sometimes evident in the texts. This collection does not wish to perpetuate such conventions but nevertheless seeks to portray accurately what these sources sought to convey. Treatment of Texts For the most part, this collection uses the original titles of sources throughout, though descriptive titles are also sometimes supplied to augment the original or provide identification in the absence

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Introduction

of a specific section title. Spelling and capitalization have been for the most part modernized, and diacritical marks for the most part omitted. The textual apparatus in scholarly editions has been omitted, though crucial terms are inserted in brackets in the text. In the print version of this volume, footnotes are held to an absolute minimum and are routinely deleted without specific acknowledgement; some are interpolated into the texts. Chapter and section numbers (for older texts, often added by later editors) have for the most part been removed. Numbering of texts is used only within oral-tradition groups, primarily because these groupings involve a large number of often small selections. However, for most selections, full original texts are available online in this volume’s Digital Archive, and in the source or sources cited at the end of the text. The Digital Archive, hosted by the University of Utah at http://ethicsofsuicide.lib.utah.edu/ and accessible from this text via the QR codes at the beginning of each selection, also provides information about other libraries with holdings of these materials. The Digital Archive is fully searchable. For texts in translation, most titles have been translated as well, though in some cases, reference to the original title is also made, typically when the work is well known in that way. Where translations have retained some original terms, these are for the most part deleted. Because transliteration from other languages to English may follow a variety of systems (for example, the name of the 4th-century B.C. Chinese poet would be, in Wade-Giles, “Ch’ü Yüan”; in Pinyin, “Qu Yuan”). Because texts may be drawn from different sources using different systems, transliterated names and terms may not be consistent within a tradition. Severe discipline has been exercised in editing for the print volume, and it has been necessary to exclude much. Omissions, deletions, and the extent of ellipses marked in a text can be determined from the page references given in source notes. Furthermore, the material that appears in the print collection is sometimes part of a much longer discussion and/or has ­analogues in other works by the same author. Because the editing of sources is so severe and necessarily excludes much of the text’s environment and context, readers are urged to consult the full texts in the Digital Archive—quick access is provided by the QR codes—and indeed the complete works of the authors in whom they are interested.

Invitation to Submit Further Selections, Corrections, and Comments Readers of this volume are invited to submit corrections, comments, and further texts for inclusion in the Digital Archive. See the QR codes on the frontispage. Please send a note of inquiry to the Archive Librarian, at [emailprotected] or through the tab on the home page of the Digital Archive.

For Help Concerning Suicide Some of the material in this collection may prove disturbing. For help with thoughts of suicide or impulses to harm oneself, contact the American Association of Suicidology and/or the International Association for Suicide Prevention. In the U.S., the national crisis hotline number is 800-273-TALK (8255). Similar services and suicide prevention lifelines are available in many other countries.

An earlier version of this essay, framed as a hypothetical project, appears in Margaret Pabst Battin, Ending Life: Ethics and the Way We Die (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 163–174.

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Selections

Suicide is an event of human nature which, whatever may be said and done with respect to it, demands the sympathy of every man, and in every epoch must be discussed anew. — Goethe, Truth and Poetry: From my Own Life

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EGYPTIAN DIDACTIC TALE (c. 1937–1759 b.c.) from Dialogue of a Man With His Soul (expanded in Archive)

The didactic tale “Dialogue of a Man With His Soul,” also referred to as “A Debate Between a Man Tired of Life and His Soul” or “A Dispute over Suicide,” is believed to have been composed sometime during the 12th Dynasty (1937–1759 b.c.) of the Middle Kingdom in Egypt (2040–1759 b.c.), probably toward its end. The only copy of the papyrus scroll that survived is incomplete: the beginning of the text is missing and numerous lacunae make this text very difficult to translate, inviting sharp differences in interpretation. While scholars do not agree about the overall meaning of this masterpiece of the Egyptian literature, almost all, if not all, do agree that a man is tired of his life and is expressing his wish to go to the West, to the afterlife. His ba, most commonly translated as “soul,” is not willing to help him. The Old Kingdom (c. 2700–2200 b.c.) had been under tight control by the pharaohs of the Fourth through the Sixth Dynasties and had seen Egypt reach the height of its material wealth and intellectual powers; earthly success and wealth were emphasized in its pragmatic, materialistic culture, and immortality could be assured with an imposing tomb, an ample mortuary endowment, the momentum of earthly success, and the favor of the divine king, the pharaoh. During that period, Egypt was subject to neither external threats from other groups nor internal instability, although after the end of the Fourth Dynasty the royal power had been gradually becoming more earthly than divine. However, with the death of Pepi II of the Sixth Dynasty, sometime around 2180—after what tradition claims was a 90-year reign—the Old Kingdom had begun to crumble, giving way to the anarchy of feuding warlords, ubiquitous violence, foreign incursion by displaced Asiatics (a focus of blame at the time), and above all intense internal strains. Responsible government had collapsed, and even the pyramids had been robbed of property belonging to the dead. Following this collapse, the First Intermediate Period had been an era of sudden and extreme disruption, its literature voicing bewilderment and despair as the stability of the Egyptian world was being overturned. This First Intermediate Period lasted until Egypt was reunited in the Eleventh Dynasty, about 2040 b.c. Whether the “Dialogue of a Man With His Soul,” stemming from the following dynasty, still reflects political anguish or is a largely personal document is not clear, but it does explore a way to escape troubles:ending one’s life. In often obscure language, the Dialogue portrays an argument between a man and his ba; the beginning of the manuscript is lost, and the remaining portion of the dialogue opens with the man answering his soul. Plagued by misfortune, the man seems to contemplate suicide by fire.His ba, or soul, an essential element that would permeate the reanimation of the man’s living existence (akh) in another world through uniting with ka (“second self ”) after the death of the physical body (khat), tries to dissuade the man. Since the concept of the ba itself is heavily disputed by Egyptologists, it is not very clear whether the man’s ba has already moved on to the West (as a separate non-physical element of its owner) or is still with the man. But it is clear what the ba fears:that if the man commits suicide as he seems to be planning, there will be no dwelling place left for it. Death by fire would mean that there could be no mummification, burial, tomb, or mortuary service. Egyptian belief held that only when a body was embalmed, given appropriate burial rites, and supplied with offerings for nourishment and other needs could its soul live on in the West, the land of the dead, and that the soul

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 18 The Ethics of Suicide must return every night to its “house” in order to be renewed and reborn the following morning at sunrise. Thus to live eternally, the preservation of the corpse was essential. The man, though, assures his soul that if it agrees, proper burial arrangements will be made. But the soul, concerned that these promises will soon be forgotten, says that his lot will be no better than that of a poor man, and suggests, instead of suicide, a life of wanton pleasure—perhaps a response to the political unrest that had been proposed in texts of the earlier First Intermediate Period. The man replies with a four-part argument:(1)his name will be in evil odor if he follows the soul’s advice to adopt a life of pleasure; (2)the people of his day are wicked, goodness is rejected everywhere, and he has no true friend; (3)death will be welcome; and (4)the dead are among the gods. The soul, apparently convinced by this argument, says that whether the man chooses to remain alive or to commit suicide, it will remain with him, and that they “shall make a home together.” John A.Wilson describes this text as “thoroughly un-Egyptian in spirit,” insofar as it abandons life and embraces death, gives up the customary funerary ceremony and psychology, and accords the individual the liberty to question the existing order. However, he acknowledges, the language of the text and its conception of the ba are purely Egyptian; the problem is that the text belongs to an atypical period of pessimism that is itself not characteristic of Egyptian culture or history.

Sources “A Dispute Over Suicide” from Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, ed. James B.Pritchard, tr. John A.Wilson. Princeton, NJ:Princeton University Press, 1950. Descriptive material in introduction from John A.Wilson, The Burden of Egypt, republished as The Culture of Ancient Egypt (Chicago and London:University of Chicago Press, 1951, 1956); Ahmed Okasha and Farouk Lotaief, “Egypt,” in Lee A.Headley, Suicide in Asia and the Near East (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London:University of California Press, 1983), p.335; and from Ewa Wasilewska.

DIALOGUE OF A MAN WITH HIS SOUL I opened my mouth to my soul, that Imight answer what it had said:“This is too much for me today, that my soul no (longer) talks with me. It is really too great to be exaggerated. It is like abandoning me. Let [not] my soul go away; it should wait for me because of.... There is no competent person who deserts on the day of misfortune. Behold, my soul wrongs me, (but) Ido not listen to it, dragging myself toward death before Icome to it and casting (myself) upon the fire to burn myself up.... May it be near to me on the day of misfortune and wait on that side.... My soul is stupid to (try to) win over one wretched over life and delay me from death before Icome to it. Make the West pleasant for me! Is that (so) bad? Life is a circumscribed period:(even) the trees must fall. Trample down wrongs—(yet) my wretchedness endures. Let Thoth, who propitiates the gods, judge me. Let Khonsu, the scribe in truth, defend me. Let Re, who pilots the sun barque, hear my speech. Let Isdes... defend me. My wretchedness is heavy.... Pleasant would be the defense of a god for the secrets of my body.” What my soul said to me:“Art thou not a man? Art thou... whilst thou livest? What is thy goal? Thou art concerned with [burial] like a possessor of wealth!” I said:“I have not departed as long as these things are neglected. He who carries (men) off forcibly will take, without caring about thee, (like) any criminal saying:‘I shall carry thee off, for

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thy (fate) is still death, (though) thy name may live.’ (But) yonder is a place for settling down, the guide of the heart; the West is home.... If my soul will listen to me, an in[noc]ent man, and its heart agrees with me, it will be fortunate. (Then) Ishall make it reach the West like one who is in his pyramid, at whose burial a survivor has stood. Ishall make a shelter [over] thy corpse, (so that) thou mayest scorn another soul as inert. Ishall make a shelter—now it must not be (too) cool— (so that) thou mayest scorn another soul which is (too) hot. Ishall drink at the watering place and shall..., (so that) thou mayest scorn another soul which is hungry. If thou delayest me from a death of this fashion, thou wilt not find a place where thou canst settle down in the West. (So) be [patient], my soul and my brother, until my heir has appeared, he who will make offerings and will stand at the grave on the day of burial, so that he may prepare the bed of the cemetery.” My soul opened its mouth to me, that it might answer what Ihad said:“ If thou art thinking of burial, that is heart’s distress. It is a bringing of tears, making a man sad. It is taking a man out of his house, (so that) he is left on the hillside, (whence) thou shalt never go up above that thou mightest see the suns. They who build in granite and who hew out chambers in a pyramid, good men in good work, as soon as the builders have become gods, their offering-stones are as bare, for lack of a survivor, as (those of ) the weary ones, the dead on the dyke—the waters take hold of an end of him, and the sunlight as well, and the fish of the water-banks talk to them. Listen to me. Behold, it is good for men to listen. Pursue the happy day and forget care! “The poor man plows his plot of ground and loads his harvest into a ship’s hold. He makes the journey by towing (the boat), (because) his feast day is approaching. When he sees the forthcoming of an evening of high water, he is vigilant in the ship when Re retires, (and so) comes out (safely), with his wife. (But) his children are lost on the lake, treacherous with crocodiles in the night. At last he sits down, when he can take part in speech, saying:‘I am not weeping for that girl, (although) there is no coming forth from the West for her, for another (time) on earth. (But) Iam concerned about her (unborn) children, broken in the egg, who saw the face of the crocodile-god before they had (even) lived!’ “The poor man asks for an afternoon meal, (but) his wife says to him:‘It’s for supper!’ He goes out-of-doors to grumble for a while. If he comes back into the house and is like another man, his wife is (still) experienced in him:that he does not listen to her (but) grumbles, unresponsive to communications.” Iopened my mouth to my soul, that Imight answer what it hadsaid:

Behold, my name will reek through thee   More than the stench of bird-droppings   On summer days, when the sky is hot. Behold, my name will reek through thee   (More than) a fish-handler   On the day of the catch, when the sky is hot. Behold, my name will reek through thee   More than the stench of bird-droppings,   More than a covert of reeds with waterfowl. Behold, my name will reek through thee   More than the stench of fisherman,   More than the stagnant pools which they have fished. Behold, my name will reek through thee   More than the stench of crocodiles,   More than sitting in the assembly among the crocodiles.

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 20 The Ethics of Suicide Behold, my name will reek through thee   More than a (married) woman   Against whom a lie has been told because of a man. Behold, my name will reek through thee   More than a sturdy boy of whom it is said:   “He belongs to his rival!” Behold, my name will reek through thee   (More than) a treacherous town, which plots rebellion,   Of which (only) the outside can be seen. ***

To whom can Ispeak today?   Hearts are rapacious;   No man has a heart upon which one may rely. To whom can Ispeak today?   There are no righteous;   The land is left to those who do wrong. To whom can Ispeak today?   There is lack of an intimate (friend);   One has recourse to an unknown to complain to him. To whom can Ispeak today?   There is no one contented of heart;   That man with whom one went, he no (longer) exists. To whom can Ispeak today?   I am laden with wretchedness   For lack of an intimate (friend). To whom can Ispeak today?   The sin which treads the earth,   It has no end. Death is in my sight today   (Like) the recovery of a sick man,   Like going out into the open after a confinement. Death is in my sight today   Like the odor of myrrh   Like sitting under an awning on a breezy day. Death is in my sight today   Like the odor of lotus blossoms,   Like sitting on the bank of drunkenness. Death is in my sight today   Like the passing away of rain,   Like the return of men to their houses from an expedition. Death is in my sight today   Like the clearing of the sky,   Like a man fowling thereby for what he knew not. Death is in my sight today

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  Like the longing of a man to see his house (again),   After he has spent many years held in captivity. Why surely, he who is yonder   Will be a living god,   Punishing a sin of him who commits it. Why surely, he who is yonder   Will stand in the barque of the sun,   Causing that the choicest (offerings) therein be given to the temples. Why surely, he who is yonder   Will be a man of wisdom,   Not hindered from appealing to Re when he speaks. What my soul said to me: “Set mourning aside, thou who belongest to me, my brother! (Although) thou be offered up on the brazier, (still) thou shalt cling to life, as thou sayest. Whether it be desirable that I(remain) here (because) thou hast rejected the West, or whether it be desirable that thou reach the West and thy body join the earth, Ishall come to rest after thou hast relaxed (in death). Thus we shall make a home together.” It has come (to its end), its beginning to its end, as found in writing.

THE VEDAS, UPANISHADS, AND PUR ANAS (c. 1500–c. 500 b.c.) Rigveda Chandogya Upanishad Isha Upanishad Brahma Purana Padma Purana Skanda Purana Jabala Upanishad

The Vedic period in Indian thought, which saw the emergence of the Sanskrit hymns known as the Vedas, began around 1200 b.c. during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age in the region of northern India ranging from the upper Indus valley to the lower Ganges and from the Himalayan foothills to the Vindhya Mountains. Vedic thought continued through a middle phase involving the composition of the interpretive Brahmanas and Upanishads, the latter largely philosophical dialogues, followed by the later Puranas, which began to be composed about 350 A.D. and continued to about 1500 a.d. The four Vedas—the Rigveda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda—consist of some 1,028 hymns in Vedic Sanskrit, composed over several centuries by poets in various priestly groups. They are metrical hymns dedicated to specific deities for recitation or chanting in connection with religious sacrifice, and are considered shruti (“what is heard”), that is, directly

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 22 The Ethics of Suicide revealed, as distinct from texts that are smriti (“what is remembered”), that is, of human origin. The oldest of Hindu scriptures, the Vedas were originally passed down orally with exquisite precision, and continued to be transmitted orally long after Vedic culture employed writing for other purposes. Attached to specific Vedas are additional expository and interpretive texts, the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, and the Upanishads. The Brahmanas are largely prose works, intended to interpret and explore the meaning of the Vedas. The Upanishads focus on ritualistic worship and on knowledge of Brahman. There are more than 200 Upanishads, comprising ten principal works:the Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chandogya, and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads. Because the Upanishads arose during a period of social, economic, and religious change, as Patrick Olivelle observes, they also display the emergence of central religious concepts in both Hinduism and in the new religious movements of the time, Buddhism and Jainism:such concepts as the doctrine of rebirth, the law of karma that regulates rebirth, techniques of liberation from rebirth, the disciplines of yoga, ascetic self-denial and mortification, and the renunciation of sex, wealth, and family life. It is the Upanishads, viewed by many scholars as the pinnacle of early and classical Hindu literature, that continue to play a role of particularly great influence in Hinduism; they have been of central importance in Indian religion, philosophy, and culture for almost three millennia. Heterodox traditions later developing from these roots include the Jain and Buddhist traditions. The Rigveda, probably complete by about 900 b.c., provides what some scholars regard as the earliest mention of sati, the practice of self-immolation by a wife on her husband’s funeral pyre. The passage seems to describe a ritual practice in which the new widow lies on the pyre beside her husband’s corpse, but then, apparently, retires before the pyre is set alight. It is not known whether this is the vestige of an older custom involving actual live cremation of the widow, or a gesture symbolizing the end of a marriage. Nor is it known whether it was originally restricted to nobility or the higher castes, a privilege for the wives of nobles and kings. In this text, sati is clearly viewed as a privilege of the virtuous wife. In a much later period of Hindu thought, the Brahma Purana speaks of sati, but casts it as an obligation or duty. The Chandogya Upanishad is one of the earliest of the Upanishads in date of composition; it is pre-Buddhist, and probably dates from the 7th or 6th century b.c. In the passages presented here it expresses what appears to be dedication to living a “ full length of life,” as does the Isha Upanishad:“One may desire to live a hundred years.” The Isha Upanishad (also called the Ishavasya Upanishad or the Samhita Upanishad) is normally placed first in collections of the Upanishads, though it is not the oldest; it probably dates from the last few centuries b.c. It is one of the shortest of all the Upanishads. The poem also focuses on those who “kill the self,” explicit in the third stanza. This phrase has many possible interpretations—variously supported by different scholars—ranging from extreme self-abnegation, to destruction of the bodily self, to destruction of the spiritual self by material concerns. The Isha Upanishad also contains highly negative judgments of suicide in the conventional sense: those who commit suicide are condemned to an extremely harsh afterlife. In seeming contrast, according to S. Radhakrishnan, the Jabala Upanishad seems to justify suicide, in certain conditions. Throughout the Sanskrit literature the term aatma hatya, or “killing (or murder) of the soul,” is used for suicide; it remains the term for suicide in modern Hindi. There is an ongoing debate as to whether in the ancient texts aatma hatya refers to literal, physical, or spiritual suicide, as in certain yogic practices that are held to separate the soul from the body—especially stopping the action of thinking.

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On the other hand, the Sanskrit literature also includes references to circumstances under which it is not sinful for a Hindu to commit suicide in the physical sense. Some texts in the Sanskrit literature also distinguish between akaal mrityu, “untimely death,” an inauspicious death also including accidents and murder, as well as suicide, and kaal mrityu, “timely death,” a good death. Suicide is not automatically “untimely,” as death in specific circumstances—e.g., in the city of Varanasi (Skanda Purana) or drowning in the Ganges (Padma Purana). Expiational suicide is also the only way to atone for the murder of a Brahmin or other serious sins. In general, observes Karin Andriolo, suicide is accepted as renunciation, when approaching enlightenment; you do not lay hands on yourself but rather let nature take its course with you: you go into the water and drown, or fall from a cliff, or walk into the mountains and freeze. This distinction remains active in Hindu thought today. See also Rammohun Roy’s [q.v.] “Translation of a Conference Between an Advocate For, and an Opponent Of, the Practice of Burning Widows Alive” for an extensive debate concerning the significance of early Hindu scriptural texts.

Sources Rig Veda X.18.7, ed. Kane, pp. 199–200; Brahma Purana 80.75; Chandogya Upanishad and Jabala Upanishad 5, in S. Radhakrishnan, ed. and tr., The Principal Upanishads. New Delhi: HarperCollins, 1994, pp. 510–511, 898–899. Isa Upanishad, in Upanishads, tr. Patrick Olivelle. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1996. Quotation in introduction from Patrick Olivelle, tr., Upanishads. Oxford, UK, and New York: Oxford University Press, 1996, see esp. introduction. Material in introduction also from Wendy Doniger, The Hindus: An Alternative History (New York: Penguin, 2009), F. Max Müller, ed., The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 1, Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1879; Karin R. Andriolo, “Solemn departures and blundering escapes: traditional attitudes toward suicide in India,” International Journal of Indian Studies 3, 1 (1993):1–68, and personal communications from Karin Andriolo and Christine Everaert.

RIGVEDA X.18.7-8 Let these women, whose husbands are worthy and are living, enter the house with ghee (applied) as corrylium (to their eyes). Let these wives first step into the pyre, tearless without any affliction and well adorned. Rise up, woman, into the world of the living. Come here; you are lying beside a man whose life’s breath has gone. You were the wife of this man who took your hand and desired to have you.

CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD Fourteenth Khanda The individual soul identical with the infinite Brahma

1. Verily, this whole world is Brahma. Tranquil, let one worship It as that from which he came forth, as that into which he will be dissolved, as that in which he breathes. Now, verily, a person consists of purpose (kratu-maya). According to the purpose which a person has in this world, thus does he become on departing hence. So let him form for himself a purpose. 2. He who consists of mind, whose body is life (prana), whose form is light, whose conception is truth, whose soul (atman) is space, containing all works, containing all desires, containing all odors, containing all tastes, encompassing this whole world, the unspeaking, the

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 24 The Ethics of Suicide concerned—[3]‌this Soul of mine within the heart is smaller than a grain of rice, or a barley-corn, or a mustard-seed, or a grain of millet, or the kernel of a grain of millet; this Soul of mine within the heart is greater than the earth, greater than the atmosphere, greater than the sky, greater than these worlds. 4. Containing all works, containing all desires, containing all odors, containing all tastes, encompassing this whole world, the unspeaking, the concerned—this is the Soul of mine within the heart, this is Brahma. Into him Ishall enter on departing hence. If one would believe this, he would have no more doubt.—Thus used Sandilya to say—yea, Sandilya!

Sixteenth Khanda A person’s entire life symbolically a Soma-sacrifice

1. Verily, a person is a sacrifice. His [first] twenty-four years are the morning Soma-libation, for the Gayatri meter has twenty-four syllables and the morning Soma-libation is offered with Gayatri hymn. The Vasus are connected with this part of the sacrifice. Verily, the vital breaths (prana) are the Vasus, for they cause everything here to c­ ontinue (vas). 2. If any sickness should overtake him in this period of life, let him say:‘Ye vital breaths, ye Vasus, let this morning libation of mine continue over to the mid-day libation. Let not me, the sacrifice, be broken off in the midst of the vital breaths, of the Vasus.’ He arises from it; he becomes free from sickness. 3. Now the [next] forty-four years are the mid-day libation, for the Trishtubh meter has forty-four syllables and the mid-day libation is offered with a Trishtubh hymn. The Rudras are connected with this part of the sacrifice. Verily, the vital breaths are the Rudras, for [on departing] they cause everything here to lament (rud). 4. If any sickness should overtake him in this period of life, let him say:‘Ye vital breaths, ye Rudras, let this mid-day libation of mine continue over to the third libation. Let not me, the sacrifice, be broken off in the midst of the vital breaths, of the Rudras.’ He arises from it; he becomes free from sickness. 5. Now, the [next] forty-eight years are the third libation, for the Jagati meter has forty-eight syllables and the third libation is offered with a Jagati hymn. The Adityas are connected with this part of the sacrifice. Verily, the vital breaths are the Adityas, for [on departing] they take everything to themselves (adadate). 6. If any sickness should overtake him in this period of life, let him say:‘Ye vital breaths, ye Adityas, let this third libation of mine continue to a full length of life. Let not me, the sacrifice, be broken off in the midst of the vital breaths, of the Adityas.’ He arises from it; he becomes free from sickness. 7. Verily, it was this that Mahidasa Aitareya knew when he used to say:‘Here, why do you afflict me with this sickness—me, who am not going to die with it?’ He lived a hundred and sixteen years. He lives to a hundred and sixteen years who knows this.

ISHA UPANISHAD Recognition of the unity underlying the diversity of the world 1. By the Lord (isa) enveloped must this all be— Whatever moving thing there is in the moving world.

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With this renounced, though mayest enjoy. Covet not the wealth of anyone at all. Non-attachment of deeds on the person of a renouncer 2. Even while doing deeds here, One may desire to live a hundred years. Thus on thee—not other than this is it— The deed (karman) adheres not on the man. The forbidding future for slayers of the Self 3. Devilish (asurya) are those worlds called, With blind darkness (tamas) covered o’er! Unto them, on deceasing, go Whatever folk are slayers of the Self... A dying person’s prayer 15. With a golden vessel The Real’s face is covered o’er. That do though, O Pushan, uncover For one whose law is the Real to see. 16. O Nourisher (pusan), the sole Seer (ekarsi), O Controller (yama), O Sun (surya), offspring of Prajapati, spread forth they rays! Gather thy brilliance (tejas)! What is they fairest form— that of thee Isee. He who is yonder, yonder Person (purusa)—I myself am he! 17. [My] breath (vayu) to the immortal wind (anila)! This body then ends in ashes! Om! O Purpose (kratu), remember! The deed (krta) remember! O Purpose, remember! The deed remember!

JABALA UPANISHAD The Atri enquired of Yajnavalkya. On being asked how one who does not wear the sacred thread can be (treated as) a Brahmana, Yajnavalkya answered, this alone is the sacred thread of him that purifies himself by the offering and sipping water. This is the procedure for becoming a recluse. (For one who is weary of the world but not yet fit to become a recluse the following are prescribed), he may choose a hero’s death (by following he path of the warrior in the battlefield), he may fast unto death, throw himself into water or enter fire (burn himself to death) or perform the last journey (walk on unto death). Then the wandering ascetic who (puts on) orange robes, who is shaven, who has non-possession, purity, non-enmity, lives on alms, obtains the state of Brahman. If he is diseased he can renounce by mind and speech. This is not to be done by one who is healthy. Such a renouncer becomes the knower of Brahman, so said the venerable Yajnavalkya.

BRAHMA PURANA 80.75 It is the highest duty of the woman to immolate herself after her husband.

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PADMA PURANA V.60.55 A man who, knowingly or unknowingly, willfully or unintentionally dies in the Ganges, secures on death heaven and moksha [release from the cycle of rebirth].

SKANDA PURANA VI.22.76 He who dies in Kashi [Varanasi] does not incur the sin of suicide but secures his desired objects.

THE HEBR EW BIBLE AND APOCRYPHA (c. 12th–1st centuries b.c.) Genesis: The Prohibition of Bloodshed Exodus:The Ten Commandments (expanded in Archive) Judges:Samson and the Philistines I Samuel–II Samuel:Saul and his Armor-Bearer Job:The Sufferings of Job Daniel:Shadrach, Meschach, Abednego and the Fiery Furnace (in Archive only) II Maccabees:The Suicide of Razis (in Archive only)

The collection of texts originating among the Hebrews of the first millennium b.c., the Hebrew Bible, generally referred to as the Tanakh by Jews and as the Old Testament by Christians, is a compilation recognized as scriptural in both traditions. It is complex in textual history. Written in classical Hebrew (except for some brief portions in a cognate language, Aramaic), it includes material believed to have been transmitted orally, as well as in written form, spanning over a thousand years of history from the 12th through the 1st century b.c. No original manuscripts from the earliest period have survived, though the Qumran manuscripts of some sections, known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, date from as early as the 1st century b.c. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 a.d., Jewish religious leaders compiled a comprehensive text from those manuscripts that survived the destruction; the earliest surviving manuscripts of this Bible date from the 9th century a.d. The oldest sections of the Hebrew Bible, the “five books of Moses” or Pentateuch, comprising the Torah in the strict sense, are the five books from Genesis through Deuteronomy. These books, from which the first two selections here are taken, provide among other things the Hebrews’ origin accounts. The Deuteronomic histories (the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings), which chronicle Hebrew history, are the source of the second two selections. Aselection is also included from the Book of Job, framed around a central poetic dialogue, probably written around the time of the Persian Conquest and the Jewish Exile of the 6th century b.c. Also included is a passage from one of the Apocrypha: II Maccabees. The Apocrypha are books and portions of books written in Hebrew or Greek in the second and first centuries b.c., ultimately rejected as canonical by later Jewish authorities but preserved in Christian textual collections and whose inclusion in the Old Testament canon was disputed by Christian thinkers. While II Maccabees is not recognized as part of the Hebrew Bible by Jews or as part of the Old Testament by Protestant Christians, it is recognized as scriptural and part of the Old Testament by Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

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Within the older material of the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, two kinds of text bear on the issue of suicide: statements or imperatives held to define the morality of suicide, and accounts of specific instances of suicide. Of the first kind are Genesis 9:5, “ for your lifeblood I will demand satisfaction,” now often said to be the basis on which Judaism’s prohibition of suicide is grounded, and Exodus 20:13, “thou shalt not kill” (or, in the New English Bible translation used here, “Do not commit murder”), the principal basis of Christianity’s prohibition. Christian authors do not typically appeal to Genesis 9:5 as the basis of the prohibition, nor do Jewish authors typically appeal to Exodus 20:13, though both texts are scriptural for both traditions. Of the second kind are the six instances of suicide narrated in the Hebrew Bible proper, as well as two in the Apocrypha: Abimelech (Judges 9:54); Samson (Judges 16:23-32); Saul and his armor bearer (the story runs continuously from I Samuel 31:4 through II Samuel 1:6, and is also related in I Chronicles 10:4); Ahithophel (II Samuel 17:23); Zimri (I Kings 16:18); Razis (II Maccabees 14:41); and Ptolemy Macron (II Maccabees 10:13). These narratives neither moralize about suicide nor express any explicit prohibition of self-killing. Job provides a negative instance of suicide, in which it is not undertaken despite a strong wish for death and a wife’s urging, and the Book of Daniel’s account of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego as they are thrown into the fiery furnace has served in the Jewish tradition as a paradigm of martyrdom to avoid apostasy (generally distinguished from suicide). These texts pose numerous interpretive challenges. The plain meaning of the selection from Genesis does not explicitly address suicide per se. The explanation of how it has come to serve as the basis of Judaism’s prohibition of suicide involves what Noam Zohar calls “creative midrashic interpretation—so grammatically fantastic (as is not unusual in midrash) as to hardly merit being called an ‘interpretation’ at all.” Daniel Greenwood, in contrast, disagrees that there is a syntactical problem. But both agree on the conceptual implications: Genesis 9:5 eloquently expresses a basic valuation of human life, easily extended to a new context. As Zohar says, its “proclaim[ation of] the sanctity of human life, created in God’s image, and the consequent view of its destruction as amounting to sacrilege . . . provides (far more clearly than a turn of phrase in verse 9:5) the basis for the later midrashic interpretation as prohibiting suicide. . . .” The later interpretation applying the verse to suicide is to be found in Genesis Rabbah [q.v.] and in subsequent texts, including Tosafot [q.v.]. The story of Samson in Judges 16, which may seem to have implications for contemporary discussions of tactical suicide in military and quasi-military situations for subject peoples, is notable for its reference to intention. Samson asks for (and apparently receives) God’s assistance in destroying over 3,000 people and killing himself in the process. As in other military cultures, it is unclear whether Samson’s own death, whether seen as revenge for his blinding or as self-sacrifice in the cause of military success, is to be classified as a form of suicide. 1 Samuel 31:3 and the beginning of II Samuel present a substantial textual challenge: the phrase rendered here describing Saul as “wounded severely” can also be translated, and perhaps more plausibly, as holding that Saul was “very afraid of the archers.” How the passage is translated and how the alternative versions are understood make substantial differences in whether Saul’s suicide, or request for euthanasia, the coup de grâce, is to be understood as preemptive, as the hastening of a dying process already underway, as an act of cowardice, or—as David appears to think—murder, indeed regicide. In the Book of Job—its inquisition modeled, some commentators hold, on the Persian secret service of the post-Conquest period—God permits “the Adversary,” Satan, to test Job’s renowned piety by imposing hardships on him. Job has had an ample family, extensive property, and good fortune and repute; and so, Satan argues, faith may be easy. With the permission of God, Satan inflicts a series of calamities on Job: his family dies, he loses his property, and he suffers painful physical ailments. The text is excerpted here to highlight not so much Job’s remonstration with God, the usual focus of readings of the text, but the strength of Job’s wish for death. In later commentaries, Job

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 28 The Ethics of Suicide stands as the preeminent scriptural figure of endurance: Despite his wish for death as a relief from his unbearable afflictions, and even in spite of his wife’s suggestion that he curse God and thereby bring about his own death, he does not kill himself. The selection from the Book of Daniel relates the story of Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah, who have been given the foreign names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; it describes how they are thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s idol. Even though they are miraculously saved in the end, their willingness to die rather than commit apostasy serves as a paradigm of martyrdom for much of later Judaism. The final selection, recounting the suicide of the Jewish patriot Razis, is taken from the Apocryphal text II Maccabees. This text, said to be an abridgment of a longer historical work by Jason of Cyrene written in Greek that is no longer extant, narrates resistance under the leadership of the priest Matthias and his son Judas Maccabaeus to Hellenization by the Seleucid rulers of Palestine, and the forced introduction of idols and other forms of worship to Judea in general and the Jerusalem temple in particular. The rebellion succeeded, culminating in the rededication of the Temple in 164 b.c. Significant in this episode is Razis’s desire, as he faces capture by the enemy, to “die nobly” in otherwise humiliating circumstances, both echoing the legacy of Saul and showing the influence of Roman Stoicism.

Sources Genesis 9:1–6; Exodus 20:1–22; Judges 15:9–16:31; ISamuel 31:1-II Samuel 1:16; Job 1:1–4:17, ­5:6–5:9, 5:17–5:18, 6:1–7:21, 9:32–10:22, 27:1–6, 36:1–12, 37:14–16, 37:19–38:18, 42:1–6; II Maccabees 14:37, The Oxford Study Bible:Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha, eds. M. Jack Suggs, Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, and James R.Mueller, NewYork:Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. 18, 82–83, 264–266; 310–311; 510–517, 519–520, 534, 543–546, 549–550, 1255–1256. The Book of Daniel, The New English Bible, with the Apocrypha, Oxford Study Edition, ed. Samuel Sandmel, NewYork:Oxford University Press, 1976, pp. 945–950. Quotations in introduction from Noam Zohar and Daniel J.H. Greenwood.

from THE HEBR EW BIBLE/THE

OLDTESTAMENT

GENESIS The Prohibition of Bloodshed God blessed Noah and his sons; he said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in numbers, and fill the earth. Fear and dread of you will come on all the animals on earth, on all the birds of the air, on everything that moves on the ground, and on all fish in the sea; they are made subject to you. Every creature that lives and moves will be food for you; Igive them all to you, as Ihave given you every green plant. But you must never eat flesh with its life still in it, that is the blood. And further, for your life-blood I shall demand satisfaction; from every animal I shall require it, and from human beings also Ishall require satisfaction for the death of their fellows.

‘Anyone who sheds human blood, for that human being his blood will be shed;

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because in the image of God has God made human beings.’

EXODUS The Ten Commandments God spoke all these words:Iam the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery... Do not commit murder. [Thou shalt not kill.] ... The Lord said to Moses, Say this to the Israelites:You know now that Ihave spoken from heaven to you.

JUDGES Samson and the Philistines ... Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived by the wadi of Sorek. The lords of the Philistines went up to her and said, ‘Cajole him and find out what gives him his great strength, and how we can overpower and bind him and render him helpless. We shall each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.’ Delilah said to Samson, ‘Tell me, what gives you your great strength? How could you be bound and made helpless?’ ‘If Iwere bound with seven fresh bowstrings not yet dry,’ replied Samson, ‘then Ishould become no stronger than any other man.’ The lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings not yet dry, and she bound him with them. She had men concealed in the inner room, and she cried, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’ Thereupon he snapped the bowstrings as a strand of tow snaps at the touch of fire, and his strength was not impaired. Delilah said to Samson, ‘You have made a fool of me and lied to me. Now tell me this time how you can be bound.’ He said to her, ‘If Iwere tightly bound with new ropes that have never been used, then Ishould become no stronger than any other man.’ Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them. Then, with men concealed in the inner room, she cried, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’ But he snapped the ropes off his arms like thread. Delilah said to him, ‘You are still making a fool of me, still lying to me. Tell me:how can you be bound?’ He said, ‘Take the seven loose locks of my hair, weave them into the warp, and drive them tight with the beater; then Ishall become no stronger than any other man.’ So she lulled him to sleep, wove the seven loose locks of his hair into the warp, drove them tight with the beater, and cried, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’ He woke from sleep and pulled away the warp and the loom with it. She said to him, ‘How can you say you love me when you do not confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and have not told me what gives you your great strength.’ She so pestered him with these words day after day, pressing him hard and wearying him to death, that he told her the whole secret. ‘No razor has touched my head,’ he said, ‘because Iam a Nazirite, consecrated to God from the day of my birth. If my head were shaved, then my strength would leave me, and Ishould become no stronger than any other man.’

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 30 The Ethics of Suicide Delilah realized that he had told her his secret, and she sent word to the lords of the Philistines:‘Come up at once,’ she said; ‘he has told me his secret.’ The lords of the Philistines came, bringing the money with them. She lulled Samson to sleep on her lap, and then summoned a man to shave the seven locks of his hair. She was now making him helpless. When his strength had left him, she cried, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’ He woke from his sleep and thought, ‘I will go out as usual and shake myself ’; he did not know that the Lord had left him. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. There they bound him with bronze fetters, and he was set to grinding grain in the prison. But his hair, after it had been shaved, began to grow again. The lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon, and to rejoice and say, ‘Our god has delivered into our hands Samson our enemy.’ The people, when they saw him, praised their god, chanting:‘Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the scourge of our land who piled it with our dead.’ When they grew merry, they said, ‘Call Samson, and let him entertain us.’ When Samson was summoned from prison, he was a source of entertainment to them. They then stood him between the pillars, and Samson said to the boy who led him by the hand, ‘Put me where Ican feel the pillars which support the temple, so that Imay lean against them.’ The temple was full of men and women, and all the lords of the Philistines were there, and there were about three thousand men and women on the roof watching the entertainment. Samson cried to the Lord and said, ‘Remember me, Lord God, remember me:for this one occasion, God, give me strength, and let me at one stroke be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.’ He put his arms round the two central pillars which supported the temple, his right arm round one and his left round the other and, bracing himself, he said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines.’ Then Samson leaned forward with all his might, and the temple crashed down on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those he had killed in his life.

I SAMUEL–II SAMUEL Saul and his Armour-Bearer The Philistines engaged Israel in battle, and the Israelites were routed, leaving their dead on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines closely pursued Saul and his sons, and Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul, were killed. The battle went hard for Saul, and when the archers caught up with him they wounded him severely. He said to his armour-bearer, ‘Draw your sword and run me through, so that these uncircumcised brutes may not come and taunt me and make sport of me.’ But the armour-bearer refused; he dared not do it. Thereupon Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So they died together on that day, Saul, his three sons, and his armour-bearer, as well as all his men. When the Israelites in the neighborhood of the valley and of the Jordan saw that the other Israelites had fled and that Saul and his sons had perished, they fled likewise, abandoning their towns; and the Philistines moved in and occupied them. Next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. They cut off his head and stripped him of his armour; then they sent messengers through the length and breadth of their land to carry the good news to idols and people

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alike. They deposited his armour in the temple of Ashtoreth and nailed his body on the wall of Beth-shan. When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the warriors among them set out and journeyed through the night to recover the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They brought them back to Jabesh and burned them; they took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and for seven days they fasted. After Saul’s death David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag. On the third day a man came from Saul’s camp; his clothes were torn and there was dust on his head. Coming into David’s presence he fell to the ground and did obeisance. David asked him where he had come from, and he replied, ‘I have escaped from the Israelite camp.’ David said, ‘What is the news? Tell me.’ ‘The army has been driven from the field,’ he answered, ‘many have fallen in battle, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead.’ David said to the young man who brought the news, ‘How do you know that Saul and Jonathan are dead?’ He answered, ‘It so happened that Iwas on Mount Gilboa and saw Saul leaning on his spear with the chariots and horsemen closing in on him. He turned and, seeing me, called to me. Isaid, “What is it, sir?” He asked me who Iwas, and Isaid, “An Amalekite.” He said to me, “Come and stand over me and dispatch me. Istill live, but the throes of death have seized me.” So Istood over him and dealt him the death blow, for Iknew that, stricken as he was, he could not live. Then Itook the crown from his head and the armlet from his arm, and Ihave brought them here to you, my lord.’ At that David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept, and they fasted till evening because Saul and Jonathan his son and the army of the Lord and the house of Israel had fallen in battle. David said to the young man who brought him the news. ‘Where do you come from?’ and he answered, ‘I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.’ ‘How is it’, said David, ‘that you were not afraid to raise your hand to kill the Lord’s anointed?’ Summoning one of his own young men he ordered him to fall upon the Amalekite. The young man struck him down and he died. David said, ‘Your blood be on your own head; for out of your own mouth you condemned yourself by saying, “I killed the Lord’s anointed.”’

THE BOOK OF JOB The Sufferings of Job Prologue There lived in the land of Uz a man of blameless and upright life named Job, who feared God and set his face against wrongdoing. He had seven sons and three daughters; and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-donkeys, together with a large number of slaves. Thus Job was the greatest man in all the East. His sons used to meet together and give, each in turn, a banquet in his own house, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. Then, when a round of banquets was over, Job would send for his children and sanctify them, rising early in the morning and sacrificing a whole offering for each of them; for he thought that they might somehow have sinned against God and committed blasphemy in their hearts. This Job did regularly. The day came when the members of the court of heaven took their places in the presence of the Lord, and the Adversary, Satan, was there among them. The Lord asked him where he had been. ‘Ranging over the earth,’ said the Adversary, ‘from end to end.’

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 32 The Ethics of Suicide The Lord asked him, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? You will find no one like him on earth, a man of blameless and upright life, who fears God and sets his face against wrongdoing.’ ‘Has not Job good reason to be godfearing?’ answered the Adversary. ‘Have you not hedged him round on every side with your protection, him and his family and all his possessions? Whatever he does you bless, and everywhere his herds have increased beyond measure. But just stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and see if he will not curse you to your face.’ ‘Very well,’ said the Lord. ‘All that he has is in your power; only the man himself you must not touch.’ With that the Adversary left the Lord’s presence. On the day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking in the eldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were ploughing and the donkeys were grazing near them, when the Sabaeans swooped down and carried them off, after putting the herdsmen to the sword; only Ihave escaped to bring you the news.’ While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived and said, ‘God’s fire flashed from heaven, striking the sheep and the shepherds and burning them up; only Ihave escaped to bring you the news.’ While he was still speaking, another arrived and said, ‘The Chaldaeans, three bands of them, have made a raid on the camels and carried them off, after putting those tending them to the sword; only Ihave escaped to bring you the news.’ While this man was speaking, yet another arrived and said, ‘Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking in their eldest brother’s house, when suddenly a whirlwind swept across from the desert and struck the four corners of the house, which fell on the young people. They are dead, and only Ihave escaped to bring you the news.’ At this Job stood up, tore his cloak, shaved his head, and threw himself prostrate on the ground, saying:

‘Naked Icame from the womb, naked Ishall return whence Icame. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ Throughout all this Job did not sin, nor did he ascribe any fault to God. Once again the day came when the members of the court of heaven took their places in the presence of the Lord, and the Adversary was there among them. The Lord enquired where he had been. ‘Ranging over the earth,’ said the Adversary, ‘from end to end.’ The Lord asked, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? You will find no one like him on earth, a man of blameless and upright life, who fears God and sets his face against wrongdoing. You incited me to ruin him without cause, but he still holds fast to his integrity.’ The Adversary replied, ‘Skin for skin! To save himself there is nothing a man will withhold. But just reach out your hand and touch his bones and his flesh, and see if he will not curse you to your face.’ The Lord said to the Adversary, ‘So be it. He is in your power; only spare his life.’ When the Adversary left the Lord’s presence, he afflicted Job with running sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, and Job took a piece of a broken pot to scratch himself as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, ‘Why do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God, and die!’ He answered, ‘You talk as any impious woman might talk. If we accept good from God, shall we not accept evil?’ Throughout all this, Job did not utter one sinful word.

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When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz of Teman, Bildad of Shuah, and Zophar of Naamah, heard of all these calamities which had overtaken him, they set out from their homes, arranging to go and condole with him and comfort him. But when they first saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him; they wept aloud, tore their cloaks, and tossed dust into the air over their heads. For seven days and seven nights they sat beside him on the ground, and none of them spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

Job’s complaint to God After this Job broke his silence and cursed the day of his birth: Perish the day when Iwas born, and the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived’! May that day turn to darkness; may God above not look for it, nor light of dawn shine on it. May gloom and deep darkness claim it again; May cloud smother that day, blackness eclipse its sun. May blind darkness swallow up that night! May it not be counted among the days of the year or reckoned in the cycle of the months. May that night be barren for ever, may no cry of joy be heard in it. Let it be cursed by those whose spells bind the sea monster, who have the skill to tame Leviathan. May no star shine out in its twilight; may it wait for a dawn that never breaks, and never see the eyelids of the morning, because it did not shut the doors of the womb that bore me and keep trouble away from my sight. Why was Inot stillborn, Why did Inot perish when Icame from the womb? Why was Iever laid on my mother’s knees or put to suck at her breasts? Or why was Inot concealed like an untimely birth, like an infant who never saw the light? For now Ishould be lying in the quiet grave, asleep in death, at rest with kings and their earthly counselors who built for themselves cities now laid waste, or with princes rich in gold whose houses were replete with silver. There the wicked chafe no more, there the tired labourer takes his ease; the captive too finds peace there,

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 34 The Ethics of Suicide no slave-driver’s voice reaches him; high and low alike are there, even the slave, free from his master. Why should the sufferer be born to see the light? Why is life given to those who find it so bitter? They long for death but it does not come, they seek it more eagerly than hidden treasure. They are glad when they reach the grave; when they come to the tomb they exult. Why should a man be born to wander blindly, hedged about by God on every side? Sighing is for me all my food; groans pour from me in a torrent. Every terror that haunted me has caught up with me; what Idreaded has overtaken me. There is no peace of mind, no quiet for me; trouble comes, and Ihave no rest.... ... Does not every mortal have hard service on earth, and are not his days like those of a hired labourer, like those of a slave longing for the shade or a servant kept waiting for his wages? So months of futility are my portion, troubled nights are my lot. When Ilie down, Ithink, ‘When will it be day, that Imay rise?’ But the night drags on, and Ido nothing but toss till dawn. My body is infested with worms, and scabs cover my skin; it is cracked and discharging. My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle and come to an end as the thread of life runs out. Remember that my life is but a breath of wind; I shall never again see good times. The eye that now sees me will behold me no more; under your very eyes Ishall vanish. As a cloud breaks up and disperses, so no one who goes down to Sheol ever comes back; he never returns to his house, and his abode knows him no more. But Icannot hold my peace; I shall speak out in my anguish of spirit and complain in my bitterness of soul.

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Am Ithe monster of the deep, am Ithe sea serpent, that you set a watch over me? When Ithink that my bed will comfort me, that sleep will receive my complaint, you terrify me with dreams and affright me through visions. I would rather be choked outright; death would be better than these sufferings of mine. I am in despair, Ihave no desire to live; let me alone, for my days are but a breath. What is man, that you make much of him and turn your thoughts towards him, only to punish him morning after morning or to test him every hour of the day? Will you not look away from me for an instant, leave me long enough to swallow my spittle? If Ihave sinned, what harm can Ido you, you watcher of the human heart? Why have you made me your target? Why have Ibecome a burden to you? Why do you not pardon my offence and take away my guilt? For soon Ishall lie in the dust of the grave; you may seek me, but Ishall be no more. God is not as Iam, not someone Ican challenge, and say, ‘Let us confront one another in court.’ If only there were one to arbitrate between us and impose his authority on us both, so that God might take his rod from my back, and terror of him might not come on me suddenly. I should then speak out without fear of him, for Iknow Iam not what Iam thought to be. I am sickened of life... *** You granted me life and continuing favour, and your providence watched over my spirit. Yet this was the secret purpose of your heart, and Iknow what was your intent: that, if Isinned, you would be watching me and would not absolve me of my guilt. If indeed Iam wicked, all the worse for me! If Iam upright, Icannot hold up my head; I am filled with shame and steeped in my affliction. If Iam proud as a lion, you hunt me down

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Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 36 The Ethics of Suicide and confront me again with marvelous power; you renew your onslaught on me, and with mounting anger against me bring fresh forces to the attack. Why did you bring me out of the womb? Better if Ihad expired and no one had set eyes on me, if Ihad been carried from womb to grave and were as though Ihad not been born. Is not my life short and fleeting? Let me be, that Imay be happy for a moment, before Idepart to a land of gloom, a land of deepest darkness, never to return, a land of dense darkness and disorder, increasing darkness lit by no ray of light. Then Job resumed his discourse

I swear by the living God, who has denied me justice, by the Almighty, who has filled me with bitterness, that so long as there is any life left in me and the breath of God is in my nostrils, no untrue word will pass my lips, nor will my tongue utter any falsehood. Far be it from me to concede that you are right! Till Icease to be, Ishall not abandon my claim of innocence. I maintain and shall never give up the rightness of my cause; so long as Ilive, Ishall not change. God’s answer and Job’s submission

Then the Lord answered Job out of the tempest: Who is this who darkens counsel with words devoid of knowledge? Brace yourself and stand up like a man; I shall put questions to you, and you must answer. Where were you when Ilaid the earth’s foundations? Tell me, if you know and understand. Who fixed its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line over it? On what do its supporting pillars rest? Who set its corner-stone in place, while the morning stars sang in chorus and the sons of God all shouted for joy?... Who supported the sea at its birth, when it burst in flood from the womb— when Iwrapped it in a blanket of cloud

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and swaddled it in dense fog, when Iestablished its bounds, set its barred doors in place, and said, ‘Thus far may you come but no farther; here your surging waves must halt’? In all your life have you ever called up the dawn or assigned the morning its place? Have you taught it to grasp the fringes of the earth and shake the Dog-star from the sky; to bring up the horizon in relief as clay under a seal, until all things stand out like the folds of a cloak, when the light of the Dog-star is dimmed and the stars of the Navigator’s Line go out one by one? Have you gone down to the springs of the sea or walked in the unfathomable deep? Have the portals of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the door-keepers of the place of darkness? Have you comprehended the vast expanse on the world? Tell me all this, if you know. Job answered the Lord

I know that you can do all things and that no purpose is beyond you. You ask:Who is this obscuring counsel yet lacking knowledge? But Ihave spoken of things which Ihave not understood, things too wonderful for me to know. Listen, and let me speak. You said: I shall put questions to you, and you must answer. I knew of you then only by report, but now Isee you with my own eyes. Therefore Iyield, repenting in dust and ashes.

Epilogue When the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘My anger is aroused against you and your two friends, because, unlike my servant Job, you have not spoken as you ought about me. Now take seven bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Job and offer a wholeoffering for yourselves, and he will intercede for you. I shall surely show him favour by not being harsh with you because you have not spoken as you ought about me, as he has done.’ Then Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and carried out the Lord’s command, and the Lord showed favour to Job when he had interceded for his friends.

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 38 The Ethics of Suicide The Lord restored Job’s fortunes, and gave him twice the possessions he had before... hereafter Job lived another hundred and forty years; he saw his sons and his grandsons to four generations, and he died at a very great age.

HOMER (c. 8th century b.c.) from The Iliad:The Deaths of Hector and Achilles

Homer is the traditional name given to the author(s) of the Iliad and the Odyssey, epic poems that were written down in a dialect known as Homeric Greek sometime around the 8th century b.c. No certain biographical information about Homer is known today. It is disputed whether Homer was one person, when he lived, and how the oral poems came into their current written form. The Iliad and the Odyssey represent the height of the ancient Greek oral tradition of epics and other poems that would have originally been circulated and performed by generations of rhapsodes. The Iliad, from which this excerpt is drawn, chronicles the Trojan War, a ten-year war fought between the Greek city-states and Troy, traditionally thought to have occurred sometime around the 12th century b.c. Homer’s poem concerns itself with the “wrath” of the great warrior Achilles, who as part of his quarrel with King Agamemnon chooses to abstain from battle and allow the Greek army to be temporarily defeated, with the help of the god Zeus, in the absence of his singular fighting abilities. For Achilles, abstention from battle also means the delay of his own death, prophesied to take place on the battlefield should he decide to fight at Troy. When Achilles does eventually re-enter the war, it is in order to kill the Trojan heir, Hector, in revenge for Hector’s slaughter of Achilles’ close friend Patroclus. As they approach to fight one another, both Achilles and Hector are submitting to the form of death they regard as honorable: Hector to his most likely death at the hands of Achilles, and Achilles to his eventual death at Troy, which, he is told, will take place soon after he kills Hector. At the time portrayed in Book 9, Achilles had revealed his knowledge of the prophecy and expressed his intention to leave Troy immediately, thereby avoiding its fulfillment; by the time of Book 18, Achilles instead wishes to die because he could not save Patroclus, whom he loved “as dearly” as his own life. Achilles is informed that his death is sure to occur should he take his revenge on Hector. Meanwhile, in Book 22, Hector’s parents beg him not to sacrifice himself by fighting Achilles alone and instead return to the safety of the city. Hector’s concern is with his own honor, however, and guilt for the men who were killed by Achilles on the first night Achilles came for him. Thus, both warriors respectively choose courses of action they know will result in their own deaths. When, with his dying breath, Hector again foretells Achilles’ death, Achilles replies that he will accept his fate “whensoever Zeus and the other gods see fit to send it.”

Source Homer, The Iliad of Homer:rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original, tr. Samuel Butler, London, NewYork, and Bombay:Longmans, Green and Co., 1898. Available online

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Homer

at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0217. Troy is referred to as Ilius and Zeus as Jove in the ­original translation; other names have been changed from Roman to Greek and minor typographical errors have been repaired

from THE ILIAD Book 9 Achilles answered, “... My life is more to me than all the wealth of Troy while it was yet at peace before the Achaeans went there, or than all the treasure that lies on the stone floor of Apollo’s temple beneath the cliffs of Pytho. Cattle and sheep are to be had for harrying, and a man can buy both tripods and horses if he wants them, but when his life has once left him it can neither be bought nor harried back again. My mother Thetis tells me that there are two ways in which Imay meet my end. If Istay here and fight, Ishall not return alive but my name will live for ever:whereas if Igo home my name will die, but it will be long ere death shall take me. To the rest of you, then, Isay, ‘Go home, for you will not take Troy.’ Zeus has held his hand over her to protect her, and her people have taken heart. Go, therefore, as in duty bound, and tell the princes of the Achaeans the message that Ihave sent them; tell them to find some other plan for the saving of their ships and people, for so long as my displeasure lasts the one that they have now hit upon may not be. As for Phoenix, let him sleep here that he may sail with me in the morning....”

Book 18 [Achilles’] mother went up to him as he lay groaning; she laid her hand upon his head and spoke piteously, saying, “My son, why are you thus weeping? What sorrow has now befallen you? Tell me; hide it not from me. Surely Zeus has granted you the prayer you made him, when you lifted up your hands and besought him that the Achaeans might all of them be pent up at their ships, and rue it bitterly in that you were no longer with them.” Achilles groaned and answered, “Mother, Olympian Zeus has indeed vouchsafed me the fulfillment of my prayer, but what boon is it to me, seeing that my dear comrade Patroclus has fallen—he whom Ivalued more than all others, and loved as dearly as my own life? Ihave lost him; aye, and Hector when he had killed him stripped him of the wondrous armor, so glorious to behold, which the gods gave to Peleus when they laid you in the couch of a mortal man. Would that you were still dwelling among the immortal sea-nymphs, and that Peleus had taken to himself some mortal bride. For now you shall have grief infinite by reason of the death of that son whom you can never welcome home—nay, Iwill not live nor go about among humankind unless Hector fall by my spear, and thus pay me for having slain Patroclus son of Menoetius.” Thetis wept and answered, “Then, my son, is your end near at hand—for your own death awaits you full soon after that of Hector.” Then said Achilles in his great grief, “I would die here and now, in that Icould not save my comrade. He has fallen far from home, and in his hour of need my hand was not there to help him. What is there for me? Return to my own land Ishall not, and Ihave brought no saving neither to Patroclus nor to my other comrades of whom so many have been slain by mighty

Free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com 40 The Ethics of Suicide Hector; Istay here by my ships a bootless burden upon the earth, I, who in fight have no peer among the Achaeans, though in council there are better thanI. Therefore, perish strife both from among gods and men, and anger, wherein even a righteous man will harden his heart—which rises up in the soul of a man like smoke, and the taste thereof is sweeter than drops of honey. Even so has Agamemnon angered me. And yet—so be it, for it is over; Iwill force my soul into subjection as Ineeds must; Iwill go; Iwill pursue Hector who has slain him whom Iloved so dearly, and will then abide my doom when it may please Zeus and the other gods to send it. Even Hercules, the best beloved of Zeus—even he could not escape the hand of death, but fate and Hera’s fierce anger laid him low, as Itoo shall lie when Iam dead if a like doom awaits me. Till then Iwill win fame, and will bid Trojan and Dardanian women wring tears from their tender cheeks with both their hands in the grievousness of their great sorrow; thus shall they know that he who has held aloof so long will hold aloof no longer. Hold me not back, therefore, in the love you bear me, for you shall not moveme.”

Book 22 Priam raised a cry and beat his head with his hands as he lifted them up and shouted out to his dear son, imploring him to return; but Hector still stayed before the gates, for his heart was set upon doing battle with Achilles. The old man reached out his arms towards him and bade him for pity's sake come within the walls. “Hector,” he cried, “my son, stay not to face this man alone and unsupported, or you will meet death at the hands of the son of Peleus, for he is mightier than you. Monster that he is; would indeed that the gods loved him no better than Ido, for so, dogs and vultures would soon devour him as he lay stretched on earth, and a load of grief would be lifted from my heart, for many a brave son has he reft from me, either by killing them or selling them away in the islands that are beyond the sea:even now Imiss two sons from among the Trojans who have thronged within the city, Lycaon and Polydorus, whom Laothoë peerless among women bore me. Should they be still alive and in the hands of the Achaeans, we will ransom them with gold and bronze, of which we have store, for the old man Altes endowed his daughter richly; but if they are already dead and in the house of Hades, sorrow will it be to us two who were their parents; albeit the grief of others will be more short-lived unless you too perish at the hands of Achilles. Come, then, my son, within the city, to be the guardian of Trojan men and Trojan women, or you will both lose your own life and afford a mighty triumph to the son of Peleus. Have pity also on your unhappy father while life yet remains to him—on me, whom the son of Kronos will destroy by a terrible doom on the threshold of old age, after Ihave seen my sons slain and my daughters hauled away as captives, my bridal chambers pillaged, little children dashed to earth amid the rage of battle, and my sons’ wives dragged away by the cruel hands of the Achaeans; in the end fierce hounds will tear me in pieces at my own gates after some one has beaten the life out of my body with sword or spear—hounds that Imyself reared and fed at my own table to guard my gates, but who will yet lap my blood and then lie all distraught at my doors. When a young man falls by the sword in battle, he may lie where he is and there is nothing unseemly; let what will be seen, all is honorable in death, but when an old man is slain there is nothing in this world more pitiable than that dogs should defile his gray hair and beard and all that men hide for shame.” The old man tore his gray hair as he spoke, but he moved not the heart of Hector. His mother hard by wept and moaned aloud as she bared her bosom and pointed to the breast which had

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suckled him. “Hector,” she cried, weeping bitterly the while, “Hector, my son, spurn not this breast, but have pity upon me too:if Ihave ever given you comfort from my own bosom, think on it now, dear son, and come within the wall to protect us from this man; stand not without to meet him. Should the wretch kill you, neither Inor your richly dowered wife shall ever weep, dear offshoot of myself, over the bed on which you lie, for dogs will devour you at the ships of the Achaeans.” Thus did the two with many tears implore their son, but they moved not the heart of Hector, and he stood his ground awaiting huge Achilles as he drew nearer towards him. As aserpent in its den upon the mountains, full fed with deadly poisons, waits for the approach of man—he is filled with fury and his eyes glare terribly as he goes writhing round his den—even so Hector leaned his shield against a tower that jutted out from the wall and stood where he was, undaunted. “Alas,” said he to himself in the heaviness of his heart, “if Igo within the gates, Polydamas will be the first to heap reproach upon me, for it was he that urged me to lead the Trojans back to the city on that awful night when Achilles again came forth against us. Iwould not listen, but it would have been indeed better if Ihad done so. Now that my folly has destroyed the host, Idare not look Trojan men and Trojan women in the face, lest a worse man should say, ‘Hector has ruined us by his self-confidence.’ Surely it would be better for me to return after having fought Achilles and slain him, or to die gloriously here before the city. What, again, if Iwere to lay down my shield and helmet, lean my spear against the wall and go straight up to noble Achilles? What if Iwere to promise to give up Helen, who was the fountainhead of all this war, and all the treasure that Alexandrus brought with him in his ships to Troy, aye, and to let the Achaeans divide the half of everything that the city contains among themselves? Imight make the Trojans, by the mouths of their princes, take a solemn oath that they would hide nothing, but would divide into two shares all that is within the city—but why argue with myself in this way? Were Ito go up to him he would show me no kind of mercy; he would kill me then and there as easily as though Iwere a woman, when Ihad off my armor. There is no parleying with him from some rock or oak tree as young men and maidens prattle with one another. Better fight him at once, and learn to which of us Zeus will vouchsafe victory.”... ... Then Hector said, as the life ebbed out of him, “I pray you by your life and knees, and by your parents, let not dogs devour me at the ships of the Achaeans, but accept the rich treasure of gold and bronze which my father and mother will offer you, and send my body home, that the Trojans and their wives may give me my dues of fire when Iam dead.” Achilles glared at him and answered, “Dog, talk not to me neither of knees nor parents; would that Icould be as sure of being able to cut your flesh into pieces and eat it raw, for the ill you have done me, as Iam that nothing shall save you from the dogs—it shall not be, though they bring ten or twenty-fold ransom and weigh it out for me on the spot, with promise of yet more hereafter. Though Priam son of Dardanus should bid them offer me your weight in gold, even so your mother shall never lay you out and make lament over the son she bore, but dogs and vultures shall eat you utterly up.” Hector with his dying breath then said, “I know you what you are, and was sure that Ishould not move you, for your heart is hard as iron; look to it that Ibring not heaven’s anger upon you on the day when Paris and Phoebus Apollo, valiant though you be, shall slay you at the Scaean gates.” When he had thus said the shrouds of death enfolded him, whereon his soul went out of him and flew down to the house of Hades, lamenting its sad fate that it should enjoy youth and strength no longer. But Achilles said, speaking to the dead body, “Die; for my part Iwill accept my fate whensoever Zeus and the other gods see fit to send it.”

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DHAR MASHASTR A (c. 600–c. 200 a.d.) Gautama Sutra Apastamba Sutra Vasishtha Sutra Laws of Manu Vishnu Smriti

The shastras in Sanskrit Hindu literature are the textbooks of religious and legal duty. Shastra literally means “rule, command, code of laws, science,” and these works focus on many different subjects, including the three principal goals for human beings:dharma (law), artha (wealth, profit, business, or property), and kama (passion, desire, pleasure). The Dharmashastra concerns dharma, a concept that incorporates the nature of the world, eternal or cosmic law, and social law, applied to rituals and life-cycle rites, procedures for resolving disputes, and penalties for violations of these rules; the Arthashastra concerns economic affairs; and the Kamashastra concerns love generally and pleasure in particular. (The best known of its component works in the Western world is the Kama sutra, though contrary to popular belief, it is not a “sex book”). These texts are composed of books from individual schools of Vedic and Sanskrit commentary, each school often contributing a sutra named for the school. The Dharmashastra includes the following dharmasutras: Gautama, Baudhayana, Apastamba, Vasishtha, Vishnu, and Vikhanas, as well as the metrical Laws of Manu. The shastras, including the Dharmashastra, are classified as smriti, a word indicating “what is remembered,” as distinct from the Vedas and the Upanishads [q.v.], which are shruti, “what is heard.” The Vedas and the Upanishads are considered to be divinely perceived—that is, the early seers were held to have perceived eternal truths—and the Dharmashastra, as well as other smriti texts, are the thoughts and explanations of Hindu scholars in response to the shruti books. Chronologically, the sutras of the Dharmahshastra follow sometime after the Vedic period, but these works have been notoriously difficult to date. Most scholars agree, however, that the first three sutras from which selections are included in this volume, Gautama, Apastamba, and Vasishtha, fall sometime between the 6th century b.c. and the 1st century b.c., while the Laws of Manu probably date from between about 200 b.c. to 200 a.d. From the time of their composition, the works of the Dharmashastra have played a significant role in influencing Hindu culture and law. In fact, the shastras were still being cited in cases of legal contracts as late as the mid-19th century in some regions of India. The Gautama Dharmasutra, the oldest of the texts of the Dharmashastra, probably composed sometime between 600 and 400 b.c., concerns the sources of dharma, standards for both students and the uninitiated, the four stages of life, dietary rules, penance, rules concerning impurity, and many other regulations and rituals for Hindu life. The section presented here concerns impurity and holds that after the burial of a suicide victim who voluntarily sought death, purity (rather than impurity) follows for their relatives. The Dharmasutra of Apastamba was most likely composed sometime between 450 and 350 b.c. It is an extensive work with many aphoristic verses and meticulously detailed rituals for daily life. Some of the prominent subject matter includes rules about marriage and married life, forbidden foods

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and dietary regulations, ritual purity, property laws, rebirth, and various penances. This sutra details various methods of self-destruction that will exculpate violators of certain Hindu laws—fornication with the wife of a religious teacher, drinking alcohol, theft, or murder of a high-caste man—and relieve them of their impurity. It also includes contrary rules, including a prohibition of self-killing. The Vasishtha Dharmasutra was probably written sometime between 300 and 100 b.c. This sutra is known for its sections on adoption, but it also concerns justice, legal testimony, inheritance, interest rates, and other matters of social law. Several issues surrounding suicide are raised in the text, including penances for those who contemplate suicide or fail in an attempt at self-killing; these are unpermitted suicides. As in the Apastamba sutra, which it echoes, suicide can also be an act of expiation for unlawful behavior, restoring one to purity after death. The Laws of Manu are perhaps the most famous part of the Dharmashastra, composed in the later part of the Epic Period and often given separate recognition because of their unique metrical style. The Laws of Manu articulate extensive regulations for many aspects of Hindu life, including rules governing religious offerings, purifications, rites, and many other religious and social practices. This code, like Hindu thought generally, distinguishes between unpermitted and permitted suicides. In Book V, suicides are grouped with heretics, those who fail to perform the appropriate religious rites, and those of mixed caste:libations may not be offered to them. In Book VI, the code compares the person who is alive to a servant awaiting payment from his master (an analogy also employed by Plato [q.v.], though yielding a differing conclusion), explaining that one should neither “desire to die“ nor “desire to live.” In many of their other passages, however, the Laws of Manu emphasize the value of leaving the body and becoming free of its pains and torment, as well as achieving full liberation from worldliness and desire. Books VI and XI address the means by which the Brahmana or renouncer should separate himself from his body. Based on the teaching of the four stages of life, developed in the text in detail, the Laws of Manu hold that, after one has become old and passed through the three previous stages of life—celibate religious discipleship, married householder status, and, after one’s grandchildren are born, retirement to the forest—one should simply walk in a northeasterly direction—in this version, without food or water—until one dies. It is in this stage that one becomes a sanyasin, achieving the highest level of spirituality. This journey that ends in death is often called “the Great Departure.”

Sources Gautama Dharmasastra, ch. XIV, 9–12; Apastamba Dharmasastra I.9.25, 1–7, 11–12; I.10.28.15–17, tr. Georg Bühler. The Sacred Laws of the Aryas as Taught in the Schools of Apastamba, Gautama, Vasishtha, and Baudhayana, Part I:Apastamba and Gautama. From The Sacred Books of the East, ed. F.Max Müller, Vol. 2, Oxford, UK:Clarendon Press, 1897, p.250; pp. 82–83. Vasishtha Dharmasastra, ch. XX, 13–14, 41–42; ch. XXIII, 14–19, tr. Georg Bühler. The Sacred Laws of the Aryas as Taught in the Schools of Apastamba, Gautama, Vasishtha, and Baudhayana, Part II:Vasishtha and Baudhayana. From The Sacred Books of the East, ed. F. Max Müller, Vol. 14, Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1882, pp. 104, 108, 119. The Laws of Manu, V (89), VI (29–32, 45, 76–79), XI (91-92), tr. Georg Bühler, Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass, 1967 (reprint of the 1886 edition). From The Sacred Books of the East, ed. F.Max Müller, Vol. 25, Oxford, UK:Clarendon Press, 1886, pp. 184, 203–204, 207, 212, 449. Online at Gautama and Apastamba:http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe02/index.htm; Vasishtha: http://www. sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe14/index.htm; Laws of Manu:http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm.

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from DHAR MASHASTR A GAUTAMA SUTRA XIV (The relatives) of those who are slain for the sake of cows and Brâhmanas (become pure) immediately after the burial... And (those of men destroyed) by the anger of the king... (Further, those of men killed) in battle... Likewise (those) of men who voluntarily (die) by starving themselves to death, by weapons, fire, poison, or water, by hanging themselves, or by jumping (from a precipice).

APASTAMBA SUTRA I.9.25, I.10.28.17 He who has had connection with a Guru’s wife shall cut off his organ together with the ­testicles, take them into his joined hands and walk towards the south without stopping, until he falls down dead. Or he may die embracing a heated metal image of a woman. A drinker of spirituous liquor shall drink exceedingly hot liquor so that he dies. A thief shall go to the king with flying hair, carrying a club on his shoulder, and tell him his deed. He (the king) shall give him a blow with that (club). If the thief dies, his sin is expiated. If he is forgiven (by the king), the guilt falls upon him who forgives him, Or he may throw himself into the fire, or perform repeatedly severe austerities, Or he may kill himself by diminishing daily his portion of food.... (A man of any caste) excepting the first, who has slain a man of the first caste, shall go on a battle-field and place himself (between the two hostile armies). There they shall kill him (and thereby he becomes pure). Or such a sinner may tear from his body and make the priest offer as a burnt-offering his hair, skin, flesh, and the rest, and then throw himself into the fire.... ... But the violator of a Guru’s bed shall enter a hollow iron image and, having caused a fire to be lit on both sides, he shall burn himself. According to Hârita, this (last-mentioned penance must) not (be performed). For he who takes his own or another’s life becomes an Abhisasta [outcaste].

VASISHTHA SUTRA XX, XXIII He who violates a Guru’s bed shall cut off his organ, together with the testicles, take them into his joined hands and walk towards the south wherever he meets with an obstacle (to further progress), there he shall stand until he dies: Or, having shaved all his hair and smeared his body with clarified butter, he shall embrace the heated (iron) image (of a woman). It is declared in the Veda that he is purified after death.... If a man has stolen gold belonging to a Brâhmana, he shall run, with flying hair, to the king, (exclaiming) ‘Ho, Iam a thief; sir, punish me!’ The king shall give him a weapon made of Udumbara wood; with that he shall kill himself. It is declared in the Veda that he becomes pure after death.

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Or (such a thief) may shave off all his hair, anoint his body with clarified butter, and cause himself to be burnt from the feet upwards, in a fire of dry cowdung. It is declared in the Veda that he becomes pure after death.... For him who committing suicide becomes an Abhisasta, his blood-relations (sapinda) shall not perform the funeral rites. He is called a suicide who destroys himself by means of wood, water, clods of earth, stones, weapons, poison, or a rope. Now they quote also (the following verse):‘The twice-born man who out of affection performs the last rites for a suicide, shall perform a Kândrâyana penance together with a Taptakrikkhra.’ We shall describe the Kândrâyana below. A fast of three days (must be performed) for resolving to die by one’s own hand. ‘He who attempts suicide, but remains alive, shall perform a Krikkhra penance during twelve days. (Afterwards) he shall fast for three (days and) nights, being dressed constantly in a garment smeared (with clarified butter), and suppressing his breath, he shall thrice recite the Aghamarshana.’

LAWS OF MANU V, VI Libations of water shall not be offered to those who (neglect the prescribed rites and may be said to) have been born in vain, to those born in consequence of an illegal mixture of the castes, to those who are ascetics (of heretical sects), and to those who have committed suicide... These and other observances must a Brahmana who dwells in the forest diligently practise, and in order to attain complete (union with) the (supreme) Soul, (he must study) the ­various sacred texts contained in the Upanishads, (As well as those rites and texts) which have been practised and studied by the sages (Rishis), and by Brahmana householders, in order to increase their knowledge (of Brahman), and their austerity, and in order to sanctify their bodies; Or let him walk, fully determined and going straight on, in a northeasterly direction, ­subsisting on water and air, until his body sinks to rest. A Brahmana, having got rid of his body by one of those modes practised by the great sages, is exalted in the world of Brahman, free from sorrow and fear.... Let him not desire to die, let him not desire to live; let him wait for (his appointed) time, as a servant (waits) for the payment of his wages.... Let him quit this dwelling, composed of the five elements, where the bones are the beams, which is held together by tendons (instead of cords), where the flesh and the blood are the mortar, which is thatched with the skin, which is foul-smelling, filled with urine and ordure, infested by old age and sorrow, the seat of disease, harassed by pain, gloomy with passion, and perishable. He who leaves this body, (be it by necessity) as a tree (that is torn from) the river-bank, or (freely) like a bird (that) quits a tree, is freed from the misery (of this world, dreadful like) a shark. Making over (the merit of his own) good actions to his friends and (the guilt of) his evil deeds to his enemies, he attains the eternal Brahman by the practice of meditation.

VISHNU SMRITI XXV Now the duties of a woman (are as follows).... After the death of her husband, to preserve her chastity, or to ascend the pile after him.

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THE JAIN TR ADITION (599–527 b.c. to 5th century a.d.) Acaranga Sutra:The Seventh Lecture, called Liberation (in Archive only) Upasaka-Dashah: Ten Chapters on Lay Attenders:The Story ofAnanda (in Archive only) Tattvartha Sutra:Passionless End is Not Suicide (expanded in Archive) Although the origins of the Jain tradition are unknown, some have speculated that, like Buddhism, it developed within Hinduism. Mahavira, the figure recognized by the Jain tradition as the last of a chain of twenty-four omniscient teachers or Jinas, was roughly contemporaneous with the Buddha some two and a half millennia ago. According to traditional dates, Mahavira lived from 599 to 527 b.c.; however, scholars who accept a later date for the Buddha would adjust Mahavira’s dates accordingly, approximately 100 years after the earliest traditional dating. Mahavira and the Buddha lived and taught in the same region, though there is no record that they ever met. In their central departure from the brahmanical tradition, Mahavira and the Buddha did not accept the Vedas, primarily because they rejected the sorts of sacrifices associated with the Vedas but which violated the key principle of ahimsa or nonviolence. The ethics of suicide are seen rather differently in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions, even though these traditions spring from some of the same roots and although the difference may be as much a matter of emphasis as of normative view. The Hindus, especially the Brahman lawgivers, generally held that suicide was not permitted, except as a penalty for a great crime, or when an ascetic chooses to end his life, or when a figure of great spirituality walks toward the Himalayas in “the Great Departure,” the journey that ends in death. Buddhists permitted suicide only in exceptional cases, usually cases of self-sacrifice to relieve the suffering of another; in self-respecting cases, it held, rather, that a person should wait and bear suffering without seeking to escape. But Jains ­permitted—indeed, revered—sallekhana as the culmination of one’s present life and the transition of the soul into thenext. Sallekhana, also called santhara or santharo in the Shvetambara branch of Jain tradition, sometimes called “spiritual death through fasting,” is the central austerity that forms the ideal conclusion of a life of progressive stages of asceticism and withdrawal from the necessities of ordinary life. Jains are adamant that sallekhana is not suicide, and although it is the believer who knowingly and voluntarily takes the steps that lead to his or her death, this is not considered self-destruction. Rather, death in this way provides a measure of control of the transition from one life to the next, recognizing, as do all Indian religions, that the last moments of a person’s life are of utmost importance in determining the condition of one’s subsequent incarnation. It is “scratching out body to save soul.” In Jain belief, there are certain conditions in which sallekhana can be performed, essentially those in which the purposes of life have been served and circumstances are such that one’s religious vows would be compromised. Most commonly, Jains ask for permission to undertake sallekhana in the case of terminal illness, when death is imminent. Other circumstances have been permissible for monks and nuns, namely in order to head off a catastrophe that would cause them to compromise

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their vows of total renunciation, such as blindness or the inability to walk and collect alms, or in the case of an unavoidable calamity, such as severe drought. It is said that Mahavira’s parents, who were followers of the 23rd Jina, named Parshvanatha, undertook sallekhana at the end of their lives. Sallekhana is not to be conflated with suicide in any usual sense, and it is to be done without striving, without passion, and without emotional arousal or turmoil of any form. It must observe the central ethical principles in Jainism, nonviolence and the avoidance of spiritual contamination. Sallekhana is seen as a wise or holy death for which one should prepare for one’s entire life. In contrast, suicide, which in the Jain view arises from ignorance, despair, inadequacy, anger, agony, and the like, and which does violence to the body with methods like poisons or weapons, or hanging oneself or jumping from a cliff, is a “ fool’s death.” In Jain thought, an “impure” death by suicide involves an increase in the passions; a “pure” death, as in sallekhana, does not. This is an important distinction for Jain theology; passions are seen as a direct cause of the influx of karma impurities to the soul and they thus result in rebirth at a lower level, while a passionless state of mind leads to both the cessation of the accumulation of karma and the destruction of existing karma that is already attached to one’s soul. Thus, in Jain belief, by liberating oneself from the passions, one liberates the soul. Further, sallekhana is to be seen as the ultimate expression of the Jain doctrine of ahimsa or nonviolence, since by ceasing to eat, one stops both the intentional and unintentional destruction of all living beings. In sallekhana, one gradually reduces one’s intake of food and liquids so that the body is “scoured out” (sallikita) of its negative elements; thus the mind can focus exclusively upon spiritual matters, without disrupting the inner peace within. Sallekhana is to be performed with a sacred formula on one’s lips, and only with the approval of one’s immediate (Jain) spiritual advisor. It must involve “pure means.” It is a peaceful, voluntary, planned religious death, to be undertaken with full joy and calmness of mind. A person may have taken a vow to perform sallekhana well in advance, not knowing when the appropriate time would arrive, but when it does arrive, one seeks leave to do so from one’s teacher or mentor, engages in confession, self-censure, and the ritual of forgiving and asking forgiveness, and enters upon a course of fasting and renunciation that will end in death. Sallekhana may be seen as the logical conclusion to a life dedicated to nonviolence and restraint. Death is not to be sought or wished for, nor may it be tainted by any overt desires concerning rebirth, but it is the expected and accepted outcome of these austerities. A request for leave to undertake sallekhana is not granted lightly; part of the teacher’s role is to determine whether a given individual has in fact attained the degree of spiritual development and discipline required for this sustained practice. Death is to occur while fully conscious, in a state of complete awareness, while in meditation. This is in accord with the “universal prayer” of the Jains:

Cessation of sorrow, Cessation of karmas, Death while in meditation, The attainment of enlightenment; O holy Jina! Friend of the entire universe, Let these be mine, For I have taken refuge at your feet. Although originally sallekhana may have been a practice of ascetics, it gradually extended to the laity, and hundreds of inscriptions all over India record and glorify the sallekhana of both male and female Jains, including husband-wife couples. The practice seems to have ceased to play even an ideal role in lay spirituality by about the 12th century. However, modern Jain communities still sometimes see

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sallekhana deaths, like that of the great Digambara Jain teacher Shantisagara, who performed the ritual fasting until death in 1955. Somewhat in common with Western medical practices involving voluntary cessation of eating and drinking as a passive alternative to physician-assisted suicide or active euthanasia, sallekhana, also called santhara, is also practiced by some contemporary Jains in extreme old age or terminal illness. Recent legal challenges in contemporary India have raised the issue of whether “ fasting to death” is constitutionally protected as a religious practice or is unconstitutional, a “social evil” analogous to the outlawed Hindu practice of sati [q.v. under Bana, Hindu widow, and elsewhere]. Opponents of santhara call it “cold-blooded murder”; proponents say that the Jains who do so “do it consciously to attain enlightenment” and that it is a “religious achievement”; they are emphatic that it not be spoken of as “suicide.” Several hundred Jains, especially in the state of Rajasthan, perform the ritual of sallekhana each year. The Acaranga Sutra (c. 3rd–2nd centuries b.c.), the earliest known writing on the rules of conduct for mendicant monks and nuns in the Shvetambara tradition, is the first text, or limb, in the Shvetambara canon, which was transmitted orally for centuries. Tradition relates that the knowledge contained in these texts was transmitted by Mahavira directly to his chief mendicant disciples, who then systematized his teachings into the 12 Angas, and that a final redaction was made at the Council of Valabhi in the 5th century a.d. The first and third lessons are about the importance of non-harm (ahimsa) to all living beings and of adhering to vows that one has taken. They provide a context for understanding the lessons regarding how life may end. The third lesson refers literally to cold; in the fourth lesson, the reference to cold is interpreted in the authoritative tradition as reference to potential seduction by a woman. The fourth lesson appears to permit suicide by poison or other means for the mendicant who cannot keep his vows including “the influence of cold,” understood by the authoritative commentaries as being unwillingly seduced by a woman; however, such suicide only puts off the last struggle for nirvana, though it is better than breaking the vow. Ending one’s life by means such as this, however, was permissible for mendicants if they found themselves in circumstances where their vows of chastity would likely be compromised or if their mendicant community would be defamed. Under these conditions, these were not “fool’s deaths” and it would not preclude attaining an auspicious rebirth. Areligious death, sallekhana or itvara (the latter consisting in starving oneself while keeping within a limited space), is usually permitted only to those who have undergone preparatory penance, chiefly protracted periods of fasting, over a period of 12years. The Upasaka-Dashah (“Ten Lectures on the Religious Profession of a Layman”) is the seventh text in the Shvetambara canon. One of the stories is about Ananda, a rich man who was a lay disciple of Mahavira. Ananda gradually withdraws from his wealth and, following precepts dictated to him by Mahavira, dies the religious death of sallekhana. The Tattvartha Sutra, attributed to Umasvati/Umasvami (c. 2nd–5th centuries a.d.), insists that the passionless end that the householder seeks in sallekhana is not suicide. The opening line, “The householder courts voluntary death at the end of his life,” is the sutra itself; the remainder is commentary by the Digambara monk Pujyapada (6th century a.d.).

Sources Acaranga Sutra, “Seventh Lecture, called Liberation,” in Gaina Sutras, tr. Hermann Jacobi, in Sacred Books of the East, ed. F. Max Müller, Oxford University Press, 1884, Vol. 22, pp. 62–78, reprinted by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 1989. (Traditionally because the Seventh Lecture was considered lost, the lecture called “Liberation” is usually numbered Eight, but Jacobi did not follow this convention.) “Ten Chapters on Lay Attenders: The Story of Ananda,” as “The Story of Ananda, a Lay Disciple of Mahavira” from Padmanabh S. Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purification, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1979, 1988, pp. 233–240, text and translation, Hoernle, 1888. Tattvartha Sutra 7:22, from Reality:English Translation of Srimat Pujyapadacarya’s Sarvarthasiddhi, tr. S. A.Jain,

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Madras:Jwalamalini Trust, 1992, pp. 205–206. Material in introduction from E.Washburn Hopkins, Ethics of India, New Haven, CT:Yale University Press, 1924, pp. 120–121; Padmanabh S.Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purification, Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1979, 1988, pp.1, 226–229, 231–232; Paul Dundas, The Jains, The Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices, eds. John Hinnells and Ninian Smart, London and NewYork:Routledge, 1992, pp. 155–156, 161, 206–207, 227; S. Settar, Pursuing Death:Philosophy and Practice of Voluntary Termination of Life. Dharwad:Institute of Indian Art History, Karnatak University, 1990, pp. 256–257, Kristi L.Wiley, Historical Dictionary of Jainism, Lanham, MD, Toronto, Oxford, UK:Scarecrow Press, 2004, pp. 181–182, and personal communications from Kristi L.Wiley and Kim Skoog. Material on court cases from Ammu Kannampilly, “Indian ‘fasting to death’ custom faces court test, AFP (Agence France-Presse), reported March 27,2011.

from ACAR ANGA SUTR A THE SEVENTH LECTURE, CALLED LIBERATION First Lesson ... Everywhere sins are admitted; but to avoid them is called my distinction. For ye who live in a village or in the forest, or not in a village and not in the forest, know the law as it has been declared. ‘By the Brahman, the wise (Mahâvîra), three vows [to kill no living being, to speak no untruth, and to abstain from forbidden things such as theft and sexual pleasures] have been enjoined.’ Noble and tranquil men who are enlightened and exert themselves in these ­(precepts), are called free from sinful acts. Knowing (and renouncing) severally and singly the actions against living beings, in the regions above, below, and on the surface, everywhere and in all ways—a wise man neither gives pain to these bodies, nor orders others to do so, nor assents to their doing so. Nay, we abhor those who give pain to these bodies. Knowing this, a wise man should not cause this or any other pain (to any creatures). Thus Isay.

Third Lesson Some are awakened as middle-aged men and exert themselves well, having, as clever men, heard and received the word of the learned. The noble ones have impartially preached the law. Those who are awakened, should not wish for pleasure, nor do harm, nor desire (any forbidden things). Aperson who is without desires and does no harm unto any living beings in the whole world, is called by me ‘unfettered.’ One free from passions understands perfectly the bright one, knowing birth in the upper and nether regions. ‘Bodies increase through nourishment, they are frail in hardships.’ See some whose organs are failing (give way to weakness). A person who has no desires, cherishes pity. He who understands the doctrine of sin, is a mendicant who knows the time, the strength, the measure, the occasion, the conduct, the religious precept; he disowns all things not requisite for religious purposes, in time exerts himself, is under no

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obligations; he proceeds securely (on the road to final liberation) after having cut off both (love and hate). A householder approaching a mendicant whose limbs tremble for cold maysay: O long-lived Sramana! Are you not subject to the influences of your senses? O long-lived householder! Iam not subject to the inf luences of my senses. But I ­c annot ­sustain the feeling of cold. Yet it does not become me to kindle or light a fire, that Imay warm or heat myself; nor (to procure that comfort) through the order of others. Perhaps after the mendicant has spoken thus, the other kindles or lights a fire that he may warm or heat himself. But the mendicant should well observe and understand this, that he may order him to show no such obsequiousness. Thus Isay.

Fourth Lesson . . . When it occurs to a blessed mendicant that he suffers pain, and cannot bear the influence of cold [seduction by a woman], he should not try to obviate these trials, but stand fast in his own self which is endowed with all knowledge. ‘For it is better for an ascetic that he should take poison.’ Even thus he will in due time put an end to existence. This (way to escape trials) has been adopted by many who were free from delusion; it is good, wholesome, proper, beatifying, meritorious. Thus I say.

Fifth Lesson ... When the thought occurs to a mendicant that through illness he is too weak, and not able to beg from house to house—and on his thus complaining a householder brings food, &c., obtained (without injuring life), and gives it [to] him—then he should, after deliberation, say: O long-lived householder! It does not become me to eat or drink this food, &c., or (accept) ­anything else of the same kind. A mendicant who has resolved, that he will, when sick, accept the assistance of fellow-ascetics in good health, when they offer (assistance) without being asked, and that vice versa he, when in health, will give assistance to sick fellow-ascetics, offering it without being asked—(he should not deviate from his resolution though he die for want of help). Taking the vow to beg (food, &c.) for another (who is sick), and to eat (when sick) what is brought by another; taking the vow to beg, &c., and not to eat what is brought; taking the vow not to beg, &c., but to eat what is brought; taking the vow neither to beg, &c., not to eat what is brought—(one should adhere to that vow). Practising thus the law as it has been declared, one becomes tranquil, averted from sin, guarded against the allurements of the senses. Even thus (though sick) he will in due time put an end to existence. This (method) has been adopted by many who were free from delusion; it is good, wholesome, proper, beatifying, meritorious. Thus Isay.

Sixth Lesson . . . When the thought occurs to a mendicant: ‘I am myself, alone; I have nobody belonging to me, nor do Ibelong to anybody,’ then he should thoroughly know himself as standing

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alone—aspiring to freedom from bonds. Penance suits him. Knowing what the Revered One has declared, one should thoroughly and in all respects conform to it.... If this thought occurs to a monk:‘I am sick and not able, at this time, to regularly mortify the flesh,’ that monk should regularly reduce his food; regularly reducing his food, and diminishing his sins, ‘he should take proper care of his body, being immovable like a beam; exerting himself he dissolves his body.’ Entering a village, or a scot-free town, or a town with an earth-wall, or a town with a small wall, or an isolated town, or a large town, or a sea-town, or a mine, or a hermitage, or the halting-places of processions, or caravans, or a capital—a monk should beg for straw; having begged for straw he should retire with it to a secluded spot. After having repeatedly examined and cleaned the ground, where there are no eggs, nor living beings, nor seeds, nor sprouts, nor dew, nor water, nor ants, nor mildew, nor waterdrops, nor mud, nor cobwebs—he should spread the straw on it. Then he should there and then effect (the religious death called) itvara. This is the truth:speaking truth, free from passion, crossing (the samsâra), abating irresoluteness, knowing all truth and not being known, leaving this frail body, overcoming all sorts of pains and troubles through trust in this (religion), he accomplishes this fearful (religious death). Even thus he will in due time put an end to existence. This has been adopted by many who were free from delusion; it is good, wholesome, proper, beatifying, meritorious. Thus Isay.

Eighth Lesson The wise ones who attain in due order to one of the unerring states (in which suicide is prescribed), those who are rich in control and endowed with knowledge, knowing the incomparable (religious death, should continue their contemplation). Knowing the twofold (obstacles, i.e. bodily and mental), the wise ones, having thoroughly learned the law, perceiving in due order (that the time for their death has come), get rid of karman. Subduing the passions and living on little food, he should endure (hardships). If a mendicant falls sick, let him again takefood. He should not long for life, nor wish for death; he should yearn after neither, life or death. He who is indifferent and wishes for the destruction of karman, should continue his contemplation. Becoming unattached internally and externally, he should strive after absolute purity. Whatever means one knows for calming one’s own life, that a wise man should learn (i.e. practise) in order to gain time (for continuing penance). In a village or in a forest, examining the ground and recognising it as free from living beings, the sage should spread the straw. Without food he should lie down and bear the pains which attack him. He should not for too long time give way to worldly feelings which overcome him. When crawling animals or such as live on high or below, feed on his flesh and blood, he should neither kill them nor rub (the wound). Though these animals destroy the body, he should not stir from his position. After the âsravas have ceased, he should bear (pains) as if he rejoiced in them. When the bonds fall off, then he has accomplished his life. (We shall now describe) a more exalted (method) for a well-controlled and instructed monk. This other law has been proclaimed by Gñâtriputra: He should give up all motions except his own in the thrice-threefold way. He should not lie on sprouts of grass, but inspecting the bare ground he should lie on it.

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Without any comfort and food, he should there bear pain. When the sage becomes weak in his limbs, he should strive after calmness. For he is blameless, who is well fixed and immovable (in his intention to die). He should move to and fro (on his ground), contract and stretch (his limbs) for the benefit of the whole body; or (he should remain quiet as if he were) lifeless. He should walk about, when tired of (lying), or stand with passive limbs; when tired of standing, he should sit down. Intent on such an uncommon death, he should regulate the motions of his organs. Having attained a place swarming with insects, he should search for a clean spot. He should not remain there whence sin would rise. He should raise himself above (sinfulness), and bear all pains. And this is a still more difficult method, when one lives according to it:not to stir from one’s place, while checking all motions of the body. This is the highest law, exalted above the preceding method: Having examined a spot of bare ground he should remain there; stay O Brâhmana! Having attained a place free from living beings, he should there fix himself. He should thoroughly mortify his flesh, thinking:There are no obstacles in my body. Knowing as long as he lives the dangers and troubles, the wise and restrained (ascetic) should bear them as being instrumental to the dissolution of the body. He should not be attached to the transitory pleasures, nor to the greater ones; he should not nourish desire and greed, looking only for eternal praise. He should be enlightened with eternal objects, and not trust in the delusive power of the Gods; aBrâhmana should know of this and cast off all inferiority. Not devoted to any of the external objects he reaches the end of his life; thinking that patience is the highest good, he (should choose) one of (the described three) good methods of entering Nirvâna. Thus Isay.

TATTVARTHA SUTR A PASSIONLESS END IS NOT SUICIDE The householder courts voluntary death at the end of his life. The loss of the senses and the vitalities at the end of one’s duration of life acquired by one’s own dispositions is death. The end refers to the particular state of existence. That which has death as the end is maraņāntah. That which has death as its object is māraņāntikī. To make the body and the passions thin is sallekhanā. Sallekhanā is making the physical body and the internal passions emaciated by abandoning their sources gradually at the approach of death. The householder observes sallekhanā at the end of his life. ‘Joşitā’ means observing it with pleasure. Hence sevitā, though clear in meaning, is not used. If there be no willingness, sallekhanā cannot be forced on one. If there is liking for it one does it oneself. It is argued that it is suicide, since there is voluntary severance of life etc. No, it is not suicide, as there is no passion. Injury consists in the destruction of life actuated by passion.

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Without attachment etc. there is no passion in this undertaking. Aperson, who kills himself by means of poison, weapons, etc., swayed by attachment, aversion or infatuation, commits suicide. But he who practises holy death is free from desire, anger and delusion. Hence it is not suicide. “It has been taught by Lord Jina that the absence of attachment and the other passions is non-injury and that the rise of feelings of attachment and the other passions is injury.” For instance, a merchant collects commodities for sale and stores them. He does not welcome the destruction of his storehouse. The destruction of the storehouse is against his wishes. And, when some danger threatens the storehouse, he tries to safeguard it. But if he cannot avert the danger, he tries to save the commodities at least from ruin. Similarly, a householder is engaged in acquiring the commodity of vows and supplementary vows. And he does not desire the ruin of the receptacle of these virtues, namely the body. But when serious danger threatens the body, he tries to avert it in a righteous manner without violating his vows. In case it is not possible to avert danger to the body, he tries to safeguard his vows at least. How can such a procedure be called suicide?

CONFUCIUS (551–479 b.c.) from The Analects from The Book of Filial Piety

Confucius (Kongzi), often regarded as the greatest of the Chinese sages and as the most profound influence on Chinese civilization in general, was born in 551 b.c. in the state of Lu, in modern Shandong, where his descendants still live. The name Confucius is a Latinized form of the Chinese Kongfuzi, meaning “Master Kong,” drawn from his family name Kong. Much of what is believed about his life is legendary. Confucius is said to have been the youngest of 11 children in a family that was noble but fairly poor; his father died when he was about three. Confucius devoted himself to the study of ancient Chinese literature known as the Five Classics, including the Shu Jing, or Book of Documents, the Shi Jing, or Book of Odes, also called the Book of Songs, and the Yi Jing, or Book of Changes, a divination manual. According to traditional sources, he occupied various minor posts and was made minister of justice at about the age of 51 until his resignation c.495 b.c. Confucius wandered from state to state for the next 13years, teaching the Five Classics and attempting to persuade the state rulers he met of the need for social, political, and moral reforms. He spoke in favor of making education available to all, and promoted a view of education as dedicated to the advancement of character rather than vocational training. He was the first to advocate in any sustained way the notion of moral education through the rituals of the ancient dynasties and to insist that moral reform through such education could restore peace and harmony to society. His teachings are rooted in a deeply humanistic worldview, emphasizing the concept of ren, variously translated as “goodness,” “benevolence,” or “humaneness,” which he saw as the highest virtue. The man of ren

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who is capable of genuinely empathetic understanding that combines conscientiousness and altruism is the morally ideal person. The work most directly associated with Confucius is The Analects, a collection of sayings attributed to Confucius and accounts of his deeds, together with his reflections on the Chinese classics. The Analects was probably put together by his pupils and their pupils, and finally consolidated by Han scholars some five or six centuries after Confucius’s death. The material is not systematic and is in some places historically inaccurate; it also includes some material that is clearly of much later date, as well as some that is alien or hostile. Nevertheless, The Analects is recognized as the most reliable source of Confucius’s thought. The Xiao Jing, or Book of Filial Piety, a collection circulating in part before Confucius but, by tradition, attributed to him, depicts conversations between Confucius and his disciple Zengzi, one of Confucius’s followers particularly renowned for the virtue of filial piety. The Book of Filial Piety was probably compiled by members of Master Zeng’s school and consolidated in later centuries. Both texts identify the duty of filial piety as a central ethical obligation:the obligation to love and care for one’s parents. The implications of this duty for the question of suicide are evident in both texts:one must not harm or destroy one’s body. Analects 8.3 depicts Master Zeng, the disciple who is Confucius’s interlocutor in the Book of Filial Piety, as he is dying. Zengzi is asking his students to look at his hands and feet to ensure that he is still whole, and expresses satisfaction that he has preserved his body intact throughout his life—a duty central to filial piety. Thus Zengzi can expose his hands and feet, often at risk in early China, where amputation was a common punishment. To injure or destroy one’s own body, or to allow it to be injured or destroyed, would be to violate one’s obligation to one’s parents; this obligation presumably precludes suicide. Consonant with this, the selection from the Book of Filial Piety, framed in the voice of Confucius, also describes the obligation to care for and preserve oneself, including one’s own body, as central to the obligation of filial piety. Analects 8.13 and 14.12 both address willingness to give up one’s life, in 8.13 for the Dao or “Way,” and in 14.12 in times of danger as a characteristic of the “complete” or fully virtuous and cultured gentleman; it may also include a willingness to voluntarily sacrifice one’s life, not just risk the loss of it. The first three exemplary individuals mentioned in 14.12 are respected state officials; Ran Qiu was one of Confucius’s disciples. Analects 14.16 and 14.17 refer to events that took place during the reign of Duke Huan, the official hegemon from 681–643 b.c. Duke Huan and his brother Prince Jiu were both exiles from their home state of Qi, which was ruled by their eldest brother. While in exile, Prince Jiu was served by his retainers Shao Hu and Guan Zhong. Upon their eldest brother’s death, Duke Huan, the youngest brother, returned to Qi to usurp power and ordered the death of his elder brother Prince Jiu and the return of his retainers Shao Hu and Guan Zhong. The expectation of the time was that retainers would commit suicide rather than serve another lord, and this is what Shao Hu did. However, Guan Zhong, on the other hand, willingly returned to serve Duke Huan and became his Prime Minister. It is not clear whether Confucius approves or disapproves of this serious breach of propriety; Confucius questions Guan Zhong’s ren, “benevolence” or “goodness,” the highest virtue for Confucius. Guan Zhong subsequently became a very famous political figure, and one of the most important political texts of the time, the Guanzi, was attributed to (and named after) him. Analects 15.9 acknowledges that in some cases, morally ideal people will knowingly bring about their own destruction for virtuous ends. Although this passage is often translated as claiming that morally ideal people will sometimes “sacrifice” their lives in order to achieve goodness or ren, the

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Confucian text translated literally reads “kill themselves.” However, the focus seems to be on doing what is necessary to accord with ren, not on suicide per se. The extent to which Confucius distinguishes “suicide” from other forms of self-caused death is not entirely clear. Over his lifetime, many gentleman-scholars and literati gathered around Confucius. Sima Qian’s [q.v.] Records of the Historian claims that by the time Confucius died, he had some 3,000 followers. Although, when at the age of 72 he was dying, Confucius is said to have felt that his life had not been a success, he has had incalculable effect on Chinese ethical and political thought. For centuries, as Edward Slingerland points out, in order to pass China’s civil service examinations, every educated Chinese person was required to memorize the Analects until the last nationwide exams in the early 20th century.

Sources Confucius, The Analects, 8.3, 8.13, 14.12, 14.16, 14.17, 15.9, tr. Eirik Lang Harris. Some interpretive material from Confucius, The Analects, tr. Edward Slingerland, Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 2003; also from Eirik Lang Harris and Eric L. Hutton; Confucius, The Book of Filial Piety, tr. Eirik Lang Harris. Some interpretive material from The Sacred Books of the East: The Texts of Confucianism, Vol. III, Part I: The Shu King. The Religious Portions of the Shih King. The Hsiao King, tr. James Legge, Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1899, and from Eirik Lang Harris.

from THE ANALECTS 8.3 Zengzi was dying and summoned his students, “Uncover my feet! Uncover my hands! The Book of Odes says,

‘Trembling and cautious; As if overlooking a deep abyss; As if treading upon thin ice.’ But now, whatever may come, Iknow that Ihave escaped [mutilation], my young ones.”

8.13 The Master [Confucius] said, “Be earnestly trustworthy and love learning, and defend unto death the excellent Way. Do not enter an imperiled state; do not dwell within a disordered state. If the empire possesses the Way, then allow yourself to be seen. If it lacks the Way, then remain hidden. If a state possesses the Way, then if one is poor and humble, this is shameful. If a state lacks the Way, then if one is rich and honored, this is shameful.”

14.12 Zilu asked what was meant by a ‘complete person.’ The Master said, “One who is as wise as Zang Wuzhong, who is like Gongchuo in not being covetous, who is as brave as Zhuangzi of Bian, who is as artistically talented as Ran

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Qiu, and who refines these traits by means of ritual and music, such a person could be called a ‘complete person.’” He continued, “But in the present time, is it necessary that a ‘complete person’ have all of these attributes? If, when one sees a chance for profit, one thinks about what is right, when one sees danger one is prepared to give up one’s life, when he does not forget for his entire life a promise made long ago, then one may be called a ‘complete person.’”

14.16 Zilu said, “When Duke Huan killed [his brother] Prince Jiu, Prince Jiu’s advisor, Shao Hu, died for Prince Jiu, but his other advisor, Guan Zhong did not.” He continued, “Is Guan Zhong not lacking in ren [goodness]?” The Master replied, “The reason why Duke Huan was able on numerous occasions to unite the feudal lords without resorting to war chariots was because of Guan Zhong’s strength. But in regards to his ren, in regards to his ren...”

14.17 Zigong said, “Guan Zhong was not ren, was he? When When Duke Huan killed [his brother] Prince Jiu, Guan Zhong was not able to die for Prince Jiu, and moreover served as Duke Huan’s Prime Minister.” The Master said, “When Guan Zhong served as Duke Huan’s Prime Minister, he made the Duke hegemon over the feudal lords and united the empire. Even today, people are still benefiting from this. Were it not for Guan Zhong, we might all be wearing our hair loose and fastening the fronts of our garments on the left [as barbarians do]. How can we expect of him the petty sincerity of a common husband or wife, to hang himself in some ravine or ditch, with no one knowing of it?”

15.9 The Master said, “Among those who have [good] purpose and those who are ren, none will seek life at the expense of harming ren, and there are those who will cause death for their person in order to accomplish what is [or accords with] ren.”

from THE BOOK OF FILIAL PIETY Once, when Confucius was resting at home, Zengzi was attending him. The Master said, “The Former Kings used the ultimate virtue and the crucial method in order to cause the empire to submit [to their authority]. Because of this the people were harmonious and peaceful, and there was no resentment between superiors and subordinates. Do you know what it was?” Zengzi rose from his mat respectfully and replied, “I am not perceptive; how could Ibe capable of knowing this?”

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The Master said, “It was filial piety—the root of virtue and that from which all teaching stems. Sit down again and I shall explain it to you. Our body, limbs, hair, and skin are received from our parents, and so we do not dare to injure or harm them. This is the beginning of filial piety. When we establish ourselves and practice the Way so as to make our name known to future generations and thereby bring glory to our parents, this is the consummation of filial piety. Filial piety begins in service to our parents, continues in service to our lord, and is consummated in establishing our place in the world [and therefore our parents’ reputations]. The ‘Daya’ section of the Book of Odessays,

Never forget your ancestors; Cultivate your virtue.

SOPHOCLES (c. 496–406 b.c.) from Ajax (expanded in Archive) from Oedipus at Colonus

Sophocles was born in about 496 b.c., the son of a wealthy Athenian, an armor manufacturer, and played a distinguished part in the public life of Athens. Noted for his perfect craftsmanship as a playwright, Sophocles wrote some 123 plays and met with wide critical success; he took first place at between 18 and 24 tragedy competitions. Unfortunately, only seven of Sophocles’ plays have survived, none from the first 25years of his creative life. Among those that do survive, the best known are Oedipus Rex and Antigone, but Ajax and Oedipus at Colonus, from which the selections here are taken, are of similar dramatic stature. Sophocles’ view of life is a positive one, displayed in his skill as a tragic poet:he asserts the dignity, worth, and value of humankind, as well as the mysterious and divine power that ordains the laws of the universe. Sophocles lived to be about 90, and died shortly after the death of his contemporary Euripides [q.v.], just before the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War. Ajax is generally considered to be the earliest of Sophocles’ extant plays, written sometime between 450 and 440. The legendary events portrayed in this tragedy occurred between those covered in the Iliad and the Odyssey, during the period after the fall of Troy. Ajax and Odysseus have been contenders for the honor of receiving the arms of Achilles upon his death, but the arms have gone to Odysseus. In a frenzy of jealousy, Ajax has been driven temporarily insane; led by Athena into thinking they were the Greek generals who had insulted him, Ajax has tortured and slaughtered the army’s

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livestock. The play opens the following morning:“In the darkness of night madness has seized/Our glorious Ajax:he is ruined and lost.” Now sane again, Ajax surveys what he has done, and the remainder of the first act follows his decision to kill himself, an act of shame and remorse. The heavily excerpted text here focuses on Ajax’s decision, his friends’ reflections on intervention in a suicide they see is coming, and the play’s overriding sense that suicide is the outcome of a curse originating with the gods. The second half of the play, not included here, concerns the rather different question of what to do with Ajax’s body after the suicide, and while there is extensive discussion of whether he merits a hero’s burial, the fact that he was a suicide is not at issue. In the end, Odysseus, once his “worst foe,” praises him as a brave man, among the noblest heroes, a friend. The second, very brief selection is from Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles’ last work and thought by many to be his greatest. It is the continuing tragedy of Oedipus’ discovery that, without knowing their identities, he has slain his father Laius and married the newly widowed queen Jocasta, who is in fact his mother. In remorse, he has blinded himself. This passage from the chorus underscores the tragic drama that is unfolding in the play:it makes the case for not living too long, but returning “with all speed” whence one came.

Source Sophocles, “Ajax,” tr. R. C.Trevelyan, and “Oedipus at Colonus,” tr. R. C.Jebb, in The Complete Greek Drama, Vol. I, eds. Whitney J.Oates and Eugene O’Neill Jr., NewYork:Random House, 1938, pp. 320, 324–327, 329–330, 333–334, 335–336, 338–342, 444, 654.

from AJAX Tecmessa Thou shalt hear all, as though thou hadst been present. In the middle of the night, when the evening braziers No longer flared, he took a two-edged sword, And fain would sally upon an empty quest. But Irebuked him, saying:“What doest thou, Ajax? Why thus uncalled wouldst thou go forth? No messenger has summoned thee, no trumpet Roused thee. Nay, the whole camp is sleeping still.” But curtly he replied in well-worn phrase: “Woman, silence is the grace of woman.” Thus schooled, Iyielded; and he rushed out alone. What passed outside the tent, Icannot tell. But in he came, driving lashed together Bulls, and shepherd dogs, and fleecy prey. Some he beheaded, the wrenched-back throats of some He slit, or cleft their chines; others he bound And tortured, as though men they were, not beasts.

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Last, darting through the doors, as to some phantom He tossed words, now against the Atreidae, now Taunting Odysseus, piling up huge jeers Of how he had gone and wreaked his scorn upon them. Soon he rushed back within the tent, where slowly And hardly to his reason he returned. And gazing round on the room filled with havoc, He struck his head and cried out; then amidst The wrecks of slaughtered sheep a wreck he fell, And sat clutching his hair with tight-clenched nails. There first for a long while he crouched speechless; Then did he threaten me with fearful threats, If Irevealed not all that had befallen him, Asking what meant the plight wherein he lay. And I, friends, terror-stricken, told him all That had been done, so far as Ihad knowledge. Forthwith he broke forth into bitter wailing, Such as Ine’er had heard from him before For always had he held that such laments Befitted cowards only, and low-souled men: But uttering no shrill cries, he would express His grief in low groans, as of a moaning bull. But now prostrate beneath so great a woe, Not tasting food nor drink, he sits among The sword-slain beasts, motionless where he sank And plainly he meditates some baleful deed, For so portend his words and lamentations. But, O friends!—‘twas for this cause Icame forth— Enter and help, if help at all you can: For by friends’ words men so bestead are won.

Ajax (chanting) Alas! My shipmates and friends, you that alone to me Loyal and true remain, of all friends alone, Behold how great a billow lately rising from the storm of blood Surging around engulphs me!

Ajax Aiai! Who ever would have thought my name Would harmonize so aptly with my woes? For now well may Iwail that sound out twice, Yea thrice; such woeful destinies are mine,

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Whose father from this land of Ida won Fame’s noblest guerdon over the whole host, And crowned with praises only sailed back home; But I, his son, who to the self-same Troy Came after him, in might no less that he, Nor rendering meaner service by my deeds, Dishonoured by the Argives perish thus. Yet this methinks Iknow for truth, were now Achilles living and called on to adjudge As the award of valour his own arms, No man’s hand would have grasped them before mine. ...

And what should Inow do, who manifestly To Heaven am hateful; whom the Greeks abhor, Whom every Trojan hates, and this whole land? Shall Idesert the beached ships, and abandoning The Atreidae, sail home o’er the Aegean Sea? With what face shall Iappear before my father Telamon?... ... Some scheme let me devise Which may prove to my aged sire that I, His son, at least by nature am no coward. For ‘tis base for a man to crave long life Who endures never-varying misery. What joy can be in day that follows day, Bringing us close then snatching us from death? As of no worth would Iesteem that man Who warms himself with unsubstantial hopes. Nobly to live, or else nobly to die Befits proud birth. There is no more to say.

Tecmessa O my lord Ajax, what are thou purposing?

Ajax All things the long and countless lapse of time Brings forth, displays, then hides once more in gloom. ...

... Iwill seek the meadows by the shore: There will Iwash and purge these stains, if so I may appease Athena’s heavy wrath.

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Then will Ifind some lonely place, where I May hide this sword, beyond all others cursed, Buried where none may see it, deep in earth. ...

Therefore henceforth Istudy to obey The Gods, and reverence the sons of Atreus. Our rulers are they:we must yield. How else? For to authority yield all things most dread And mighty. Thus must Winter’s snowy feet Give place to Summer with her wealth of fruits; And from her weary round doth Night withdraw, That Day’s white steeds may kindle heaven with light. After fierce tempest calm will ever lull The moaning sea; and Sleep, that masters all, Binds life awhile, yet loosens soon the bond. And who am Ithat Ishould not learn wisdom? ...

Thus well am Iresolved. (To Tecmessa) Thou, woman, pass Within, and pray gods that all things so May be accomplished as my heart desires. And you, friends, heed my wishes as she doth; And when he comes, bid Teucer he must guard My rights at need, and withal stand your friend. For now Igo whither Ineeds must pass. ...

This, O Zeus, Ientreat thee, and likewise call On Hermes, guide to the underworld, to lay me Asleep without a struggle, at one swift bound, When Ihave thrust my heart through with this sword. Next Icall on those maidens ever-living And ever watchful of all human miseries, The dread swift-striding Erinyes, that they mark How by the Atreidae Ihave been destroyed: And these vile men by a vile doom utterly May they cut off, even as they see me here. Come, O ye swift avenging Erinyes, Spare not, touch with affliction the whole host. And thou, whose chariot mounts up the steep sky, Thou Sun, when on the land where Iwan born Thou shalt look down, check thy gold-spangled rein, And announce my disasters and my doom To my aged sire and her who nurtured me.

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She, woeful woman, when she hears these tidings Will wail out a loud dirge through all the town. But Iwaste labour with this idle moan. The act must now be done, and that with speed. O Death, Death, come now and look upon me. No, ‘tis there Ishall meet and speak to thee. But thee, bright daylight which Inow behold, And Helios in his chariot Iaccost For this last time of all, and then no more. O sunlight! O thou hallowed soil, my own Salamis, stablished seat of my sire’s hearth, And famous Athens, with thy kindred race, And you, ye springs and streams, and Trojan plains, Farewell, all ye who have sustained my life. This is the last word Ajax speaks to you. All else in Hades to the dead will Isay.   (He falls on his sword)

Tecmessa I am lost, destroyed, made desolate, my friends.

Leader What is it? Speak.

Tecmessa Ajax, our master, newly slaughtered lies Yonder, a hidden sword sheathed in his body.

from OEDIPUS AT COLONUS Chorus strophe Whoso craves the ampler length of life, not content to desire a modest span, him will Ijudge with no uncertain voice; he cleaves to folly. For the long days lay up full many things nearer unto grief than joy; but as for thy delights, their place shall know them no more, when a man’s life hath lapsed beyond the fitting term; and the Deliverer comes at the last to all alike,—when the doom of Hades is suddenly revealed, without marriage-song, or lyre, or dance,—even Death at the last.

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antistrophe Not to be born is, past all prizing, best; but, when a man hath seen the light, this is next best by far, that with all speed he should go thither, whence he hath come. For when he hath seen youth go by, with its light follies, what troublous affliction is strange to his lot, what suffering is not therein?—envy, factions, strife, battle and slaughters; and, last of all, age claims him for her own,—age, dispraised, infirm, unsociable, un-friended, with whom all woe of woe abides.

EUR IPIDES (c. 484–406 b.c.) from Suppliant Women:The Suicide of Evadne,

Watched byherFather

Euripides, the Greek dramatist, had a profound influence on the development of later Western drama. According to legend, he was born on the island of Salamis on September 23, 480 b.c., the day of the great naval battle in which the Greeks defeated the Persians; historians set his birthdate in 484. Euripides’ family soon fled to Athens, where he received a comprehensive education before beginning military service at age 20. His first play was produced in 455, when he competed in the Festival of Dionysus, a competition Sophocles had won only 13years prior to Euripides’ initial entry. Euripides’ first of four victories in the Festival came in 442. Euripides also showed talent and interest in other areas of study, particularly natural science and philosophy. Although he is believed to have written many dramatic works, only 17 tragedies and one satyr play survive today, among them Alcestis (438), Medea (431), Hippolytus (428), and The Trojan Women (415). Throughout his dramatic career, Euripides was both praised and criticized for his unique and unconventional style, particularly the natural, realistic language of his heroes and his independence from traditional religious conventions; he is credited with bringing drama closer to the experience of the ordinary citizen. Aristotle called Euripides the most tragic of the Greek poets; he is sometimes called the philosopher of the stage. Euripides eventually became disaffected with life in Athens and moved to Macedonia, where he died in 406—according to legend, attacked and killed by the king’s hunting dogs. In Suppliant Women (date uncertain), Euripides depicts the tragic aftermath of a war known as the “Seven Against Thebes.” In the drama, Evadne, whose husband Capaneus has died, commits suicide by throwing herself from a cliff onto his funeral pyre. Her elderly father Iphis witnesses her death and laments the torments of old age. Two cruxes in the text are often rendered in disparate ways in different translations:Iphis’ vow to starve himself and destroy his body, apophthero [“utterly ruin, destroy”], and his further insistence that the aged should not attempt to prolong their lives with various medical regimens but should leave and die, and “get out of the way of the young.” Suicide in old age or to lessen burdens on younger generations is not, however, to be

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confused with that of younger people with more emotional reasons, and the chorus of Greek women in Suppliant Women do not approve of Evadne’s suicide, saying “Alas, woman, it is a dread deed you have accomplished.”

Source Euripedes, Suppliant Women, lines 980–1113, ed. and tr. David Kovacs. Cambridge, MA, and London: Harvard University Press, 1998, odd-numbered pp. 110–125, some punctuation deleted.

from SUPPLIANT WOMEN:THE SUICIDE

OF EVADNE, WATCHED BY HER FATHER Chorus leader

Look, Isee the resting place and consecrated tomb of Capaneus here and gifts from the temple Theseus has dedicated to the dead. Ialso see near at hand Evadne, the glorious wife of lightning-slain Capaneus and the daughter of King Iphis. Why does she take this path and stand on the high cliff that towers over this temple?

Evadne What light, what gleam did the sun on its chariot shine forth, and likewise the moon, astride her steed, swiftly accompanying my bridal celebration through the dark night with her swift-moving torches? On that day with songs sweet-resounding in honor of my marriage the city of Argos raised tower-high my happiness and that of my bridegroom, Capaneus of the bronze panoply. And now it is to him Ihave come, running crazed from my house to enter upon the same pyre blaze and burial, to bring my toilsome life and its labors to a toilless end in Hades. The most pleasurable death, you know, is to die with one’s dearest as he dies, if fate so ordains.

Chorus leader You see this pyre, above which you stand, the storehouse of Zeus, where lies your husband, bested by the blaze of the thunderbolt.

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Evadne I see that my journey’s end is here where Istand (for fortune is stepping along with me), and it is here that to win glory I shall launch myself from this cliff. After leaping into the fire, joining my body in the glowing flame with my dear husband, and laying my flesh near his. I shall come to the marriage chamber of Persephone! Never, where my life is concerned, shall Iabandon you lying dead beneath the earth! Light the bridal torch, begin the marriage! May good luck attend you, all lawful marriages that may come to my children in Argos! And may the wedded bridegroom, as goodness ordains, dwell fused in love to the pure impulse of his noble wife!   Enter Iphis

Chorus leader But look, here your father himself, aged Iphis, draws near to receive new and unwelcome tidings, tidings he did not know before and which will grieve him when he hears them.

Iphis O unhappy women, unhappy old man that Iam Ihave come with a double burden of grief for my kin:Iwant to transport my son Eteoclus, killed by the spears of the Cadmeans, back to his native land by ship and to find my daughter, Capaneus’ wife, who sprang up and left her house, longing to die with her husband. Previously she was guarded closely in the house. But because of our present misfortunes Irelaxed the watch, and she went off. But we think she is most likely to be here. Tell me if you have seen her.

Evadne Why do you ask them? Here Iam upon the cliff like a bird, perched high in my grief, father.

Iphis My child, what impulse, what errand is this? Why have you stolen from home and come to this land?

Evadne To learn my plans would make you angry, father. Ido not want you to hear them.

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Iphis But is it not right for your father to know?

Evadne You would be a foolish judge of my intent.

Iphis But why have you adorned yourself with this finery?

Evadne These clothes have a glorious aim, father.

Iphis You do not look like a woman in mourning for her husband.

Evadne No:it is for a new purpose that Iam decked out.

Iphis And yet you show yourself near his pyre and tomb?

Evadne Yes:Ihave come here in glorious victory.

Iphis What victory? Iwant to learn from your lips.

Evadne Over all women the sun looks on.

Iphis In the works of Athena or in prudence of thought?

Evadne In goodness:Ishall lie next to my husband in death.

Iphis What do you mean? What is this diseased riddle you are telling?

Evadne I shall leap upon the pyre of dead Capaneus here.

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Iphis My daughter, hush! Do not say this before the crowd.

Evadne But this is the very thing Iwant, that all the Argives should know it.

Iphis But Iwill not consent to your doing this.

Evadne That makes no difference. You will not be able to seize me in your grasp. See, my body is sped:this is unkind to you but kind to me and to the husband with whom Ishare the pyre. Evadne leaps

Chorus Alas, woman, it is a dread deed you have accomplished!

Iphis My miserable life is at an end, Argive women!

Chorus Ah, ah! Cruel are the griefs you have suffered! Can you bear, poor man, to look on this deed of utmost  daring?

Iphis You will never find another more hapless than me!

Chorus Poor man! You have taken a share, old sir, in the fortunes of Oedipus, both you and my luckless city!

Iphis Ah me! Why is it not possible for mortals to be twice young and twice old? If something is amiss at home, with our second thoughts we put it to rights, but we cannot do this with our lives. If we were twice young and old, when anyone made a mistake we could correct it when we had received our life's second portion. I, for example, saw others begetting children and longed for them, and this longing was my undoing. If Ihad known this and had experienced what a thing it is for a father to lose his

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children, Iwould never have come to my present pitch of misery. Ibegot and fathered a brave young man and now Iam deprived of him. Well, then, what am Ito do in my misery? Return home? And then am Ito look at the deep desolation of my house and the emptiness of my life? Or should I go to the house of Capaneus here? Iloved to do so before when Ihad my daughter. But she is gone, she who always used to draw my cheek to her lips and hold my head in her hands. Nothing is sweeter to an aged father than a daughter. Sons are more spirited but not as endearing. Servants, take me swiftly home and hide me in the dark! There Ishall starve my aged body and end my life! What good will it do me to touch the bones of my son? Old age, so hard to wrestle with, how Idetest you! Idetest also those who wish to prolong their lives, using meat and drink and magic potions to turn aside the stream and avoid death. Since they do the earth no good, they should vanish and die and get out of the way of theyoung!

Exit Iphis

THE HIPPOCR ATIC COR PUS (c. 450–c. 350 b.c.) The Hippocratic Oath from About Maidens

Probably edited later at Alexandria, the body of medical works that has come to be known as the Hippocratic Corpus includes about 70 works, all originally in the Ionic dialect, of differing rhetorical and teaching styles, most likely stemming from a variety of different authors during the last decades of the 5th century b.c. and the first half of the 4th century b.c. By tradition, they are attributed to the most renowned physician of the classical era, Hippocrates of Cos. These works established medicine as a discipline with its own methods and practices (particularly observation and experimentation) that were distinct from religion and philosophy. Hippocratic medicine saw illness as a natural process, an imbalance of the four “humors” or fluids of the body—blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile—and recognized that factors like diet, weather, and stress could influence health. In a famous passage in The Art, medicine is defined “in general terms” as “to do away with the sufferings of the sick, to lessen the violence of their diseases, and to refuse to treat those who are overmastered by their diseases, realizing that in such cases medicine is powerless.” Very little is known about Hippocrates. Now revered as the “Father of Medicine,” he was born around 460 b.c. and lived on the Aegean island of Cos (Kos). By the time of Plato’s Phaedrus, written in the early 4th century b.c., Hippocrates’ fame had been established as a model physician:he was said to have been learned, humane, calm, pure of mind, grave, and reticent. The remains of the school and clinic attributed to Hippocrates are still visible on Cos. However, although he has at times been credited

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with authorship of most or all of the treatises forming the Corpus, none have been proven to be his. He is almost certainly not the author of the oath still bearing his name or of the short treatise on maidens. In its original form, presented here, the “Hippocratic Oath” invokes the gods of healing, specifies the duties of the pupil toward his teacher and his teacher’s family, and makes explicit the pupil’s obligations in transmitting and using medical knowledge. It asserts a central principle:the physician shall come “ for the benefit of the sick,” that is, for the sake of the patient rather than to serve the interests of other parties. This and the companion principle “do no harm” are still understood as the normative core of the Oath, which also articulates a variety of specific rules concerning medical practice:it mandates the use of dietetic measures only (or what would now be called drug therapy); it prohibits the use of surgery (reserved for another profession); it prohibits abortion; and, central to the issue of suicide, it prohibits supplying lethal drugs to one’s patients or to others. Twentieth-century scholars like Ludwig Edelstein and Danielle Gourevitch have argued that the stringent ethics of this document do not accurately reflect the practice of medicine in 5th-century Greece, and are more likely a result of a later inclusion of differing philosophical ideals, principally Pythagorean religion. According to Edelstein (though not all scholars accept this view), at the time Hippocrates was writing, elective death, including both voluntary active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, was widely accepted and practiced in Greek society as an option for those diagnosed as terminally ill. Taking poison was the most usual means of ending life in these circumstances. It was thought to be the responsibility of the physician, who was typically his own apothecary, to supply an appropriate and effective poison to a patient whose prognosis was irremediably dim; it is said that hemlock was developed for this purpose. Such a step involved consultation between the patient and the physician, or between the patient’s family or friends and the physician; if the case was found to be hopeless, the physician might directly or indirectly suggest suicide. Whether to act upon such a suggestion, however, was left to the discretion of the patient. Thus the supplying of lethal poisons to patients upon request was not generally considered a violation of medical ethics; the Hippocratic Oath’s prohibition of this practice represents, in Edelstein’s view, the distinctive influence of Pythagoreanism. “About Maidens” (peri parthenion), one of several gynecological treatises in the Hippocratic Corpus and a diatribe against marginal religious healers, is an early attempt to formulate a physiological explanation of suicide. It also represents an early medical attempt to identify risk groups. The text is based on the clinical observation that women strangle (or hang) themselves more often than men if faced with the “sacred disease” (epilepsy) or paranoid forms of mental illness, a fact attributed to feminine cowardice (“the female nature is more fainthearted”). It focuses particularly on disturbances in the parthenos or “maiden” who is childless and unmarried but at the age for marriage, not long after menarche; the symptoms described in this text would now be called premenstrual dysphoric disorder. The Hippocratic writer offers a therapeutic recommendation:quick intercourse and pregnancy (rather than offerings to Artemis, called “The Strangled,” the eternally virginal goddess). In this largely physiological explanation of suicide put forward in “About Maidens,” however, there is little exploration of psychosocial factors associated with the social conditions of sequestration under which girls in ancient Greece lived. The “Hippocratic Oath” itself has had an erratic history. Although it was apparently used during ancient times, it was preserved primarily by Arabic scholars and not rediscovered in the West until translations of the Hippocratic Corpus appeared in the 11th century. Revised versions of the Oath are now administered in most U.S.medical schools (though fewer Canadian and British schools) upon the conferring of a medical degree. With very few exceptions, contemporary versions of the Oath taken by graduate physicians do not contain the original Greek version’s explicit prohibitions of

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taking fees for teaching, abortion, providing lethal drugs to dying patients, or surgery, though provisions concerning justice, social responsibility, and respect for life have often been introduced instead.

Sources “The Hippocratic Oath,” ed. and tr. Ludwig Edelstein, in Ancient Medicine:Selected Papers of Ludwig Edelstein, eds. Owsei and C. Lilian Temkin, tr. C. Lilian Temkin, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1967, p.6. “About Maidens” (peri parthenion), text 8.466-70 Littre, tr. Nancy Demand (Greek deleted), in Nancy Demand, Birth, Death, and Motherhood in Classical Greece. Baltimore and London:Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994, pp. 95–97. Quotation in introductory passage from “The Art,” III.3–10 in W. H.S. Jones, ed. and tr., Hippocrates. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press, 1952, p. 193. Also see Danielle Gourevitch, “Suicide Among the Sick in Classical Antiquity,” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 43(1969):501–518. Material concerning “About Maidens” in introductory passage also from Helen King, “Bound to Bleed:Artemis and Greek Women,” in Averil Cameron and Amélie Kuhrt, eds., Images of Women in Antiquity (London and Canberra:Croon Helm, 1983), pp.109–127.

THE HIPPOCR ATIC OATH I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that Iwill fulfill according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant: To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art—if they desire to learn it—without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but to no one else. I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; Iwill keep them from harm and injustice. I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will Imake a suggestion to this effect. Similarly Iwill not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness Iwill guard my life and my art. I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work. Whatever houses Imay visit, Iwill come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male persons, be they free or slaves. What Imay see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, Iwill keep to myself holding such things shameful to be spoken about. If Ifulfill this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if Itransgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.

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from ABOUT MAIDENS The beginning of medicine in my opinion is the constitution of the ever-existing. For it is not possible to know the nature of diseases, which indeed it is [the aim] of the art to discover, if you do not know the beginning in the undivided, from which it is divided out. First about the so-called sacred disease, and about those who are stricken, and about terrors, all that men fear exceedingly so as to be out of their minds and to seem to have seen certain daimons hostile to them, either in the night or in the day or at both times. For from such a vision many already are strangled, more women than men; for the female nature is more fainthearted and lesser. But parthenoi [maidens] for whom it is the time of marriage, remaining unmarried, suffer this more at the time of the going down of the menses. Earlier they do not suffer these distresses, for it is later that the blood is collected in the womb so as to flow away. Whenever then the mouth of the exit is not opened for it, and more blood flows in because of nourishment and the growth of the body, at this time the blood, not having an outlet, bursts forth by reason of its magnitude into the heart and diaphragm. Whenever these are filled, the heart becomes sluggish; then from sluggishness comes torpor; then from torpor, madness. It is just as when someone sits for a long time, the blood from the hips and thighs, pressed out to the lower legs and feet, causes torpor, and from the torpor the feet become powerless for walking until the blood runs back to its own place; and it runs back quickest whenever, standing in cold water, you moisten the part up to the ankles. This torpor is not serious, for the blood quickly runs back on account of the straightness of the veins, and the part of the body is not critical. But from the heart and the diaphragm it runs back slowly, for the veins are at an angle, and the part is critical and disposed for derangement and mania. And whenever these parts are filled, shivering with fever starts up quickly; they call these fevers wandering. But when these things are thus, she is driven mad by the violent inflammation, and she is made murderous by the putrefaction, and she is fearful and anxious by reason of the gloom, and strangulations result from the pressure around the heart, and the spirit, distraught and anguished by reason of the badness of the blood, is drawn toward evil. And another thing, she addresses by name fearful things, and they order her to jump about and to fall down into wells and to be strangled, as if it were better and had every sort of advantage. And whenever they are without visions, there is a kind of pleasure the makes her desire death as if it were some sort of good. But when the woman returns to reason, women dedicate both many other things and the most expensive feminine clothing to Artemis, being utterly deceived, the soothsayers ordering it. Her deliverance [is] whenever nothing hinders the outflow of blood. But Imyself bid maidens, whenever they suffer such things, to cohabit with men as quickly as possible, for if they conceive they become healthy. But if not, either immediately in the prime of youth, or a little later, she will be seized [by this illness], if not by some other illness. And of married women, those who are sterile suffer this more often.

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PLATO (c. 424–c. 348 b.c.) Apology:Socrates on Being Condemned to Death (expanded in Archive)

Phaedo:The Death of Socrates (expanded in Archive) Republic:On Medicine (expanded in Archive) Laws:Recidivist Criminals and Penalties for Suicide (expanded in Archive)

Plato was born in Athens into an aristocratic family during the Peloponnesian War, in the waning years of Greece’s golden age, when Athens was in decline after having been the cultural, political, and military center of Greece. According to an ancient story, his original name was Aristocles; he was given the surname Plato (Greek for “broad” or “wide”) because of his broad shoulders, or, in other versions, broad forehead or wide range of knowledge. Plato’s principal teacher, Socrates, to whom he later gave the role of philosophical protagonist in his early and middle-period Dialogues, was unjustly convicted and sentenced to death by a democratic government in 399 b.c.; this would later be of central influence in Plato’s Dialogues, especially the Apology and Crito, and the monumental philosophical work The Republic. In the years after Socrates’ death, Plato traveled widely. In about 387, after returning to Athens, he founded the Academy, a center of philosophical and mathematical learning; Aristotle [q.v.], Plato’s student, was one of the Academy’s many pupils. Plato also traveled on several occasions to Syracuse, where he sought to persuade Dion, the son-in-law of the tyrant Dionysus I, and later Dionysus II, of the importance of the idea of the philosopher-king. Plato died in Athens. Plato’s well-known Theory of Ideas, or Forms, is the foundation of his dualistic metaphysics. It recognizes two domains, the realm of material objects perceived by the senses and the realm of unchanging, transcendent entities (Ideas, or Forms) that are the eternal truths. Only Ideas are true objects of knowledge; material existence, known by sense-perception, is illusory and can be the subject of opinion only. The philosopher, by reason and contemplation, can come to know the Ideas and thereby achieve true knowledge. The first two selections are taken from the Apology and Phaedo. When in 399 Socrates was convicted on charges of “not believing in the Gods the State believes in” and “corrupting the youth” by encouraging them to challenge conventional wisdom, he was offered the chance to set his own penalty, but he chose one calculated to irritate the court and so was not set free. In the Apology, Plato offers Socrates’ defense of this choice:“the difficulty is not to avoid death, but to avoid unrighteousness.” Then, in the month intervening between trial and execution, Socrates could have escaped from jail and again could have saved his own life; he chose not to do so. Describing Socrates’ life—and death— in these and other dialogues, Plato portrays Socrates as arguing that there is no contradiction in his submitting freely to death and holding the belief that suicide is forbidden. Plato portrays Socrates’

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final conversation as taking place on the day he is to be executed, just before the jailor brings the lethal bowl of hemlock. The section presented here opens as Socrates sends a message to Evenus to “come after me as quickly as he can,” that is, as Cebes interprets it, to die as soon as possible. The resultant conversation explores the distinctions between “engaging in philosophy,” or, as Socrates puts it, “practising nothing other than dying and being dead.” In this passage and the subsequent discussion of death and immortality, of inestimable influence in later religious and philosophical thought in the West, Plato is exploring his view that death will bring independence from sense-perception, the body, the material world, and thus will be welcome to the philosopher in search of fully abstract truth. After this discussion, the selection presented resumes with Plato’s description of Socrates’ final actions as he asks for the cup of hemlock and drinks it. Whether this act itself is a suicide or not has been widely discussed in later literature. In The Republic Plato explores issues of justice and the ideal form of state. He envisions a utopia where wise philosopher-kings rule and where the balance of faculties in the just individual, where the appetites and emotions are regulated by the intellect, is mirrored in the structure of the state, where the workers and the military are governed by the philosophically just and principled guardians. Against this background, The Republic depicts Socrates conversing with Glaucon about the appropriate role of the physician in the ideal state. The physician, Socrates holds, should treat only acute illness and wounds from which the patient can recover fully enough to return to his work, but there should be no coddling of chronic disease. The man who is sickly or who destroys his own health should recognize that he is “of no use either to himself or the state”; he is not to be given treatment, but allowed to die. Significantly, the obligation is on the patient to decline treatment, rather than on the physician to refrain from providing it; in this indirect sense, the patient is to bring about his own death if he can no longer work. Plato continued to explore issues of individual responsibility and utility to society in his second treatise attempting to depict a just state, The Laws. In the first passage from The Laws presented here, the Laws themselves appear to recommend suicide, or voluntary subjection to capital punishment, for the recidivist criminal unable to control his behavior:here, having one’s life end is seen as obligatory, though it is not clear whether this is to be brought about by the person himself or by some other party, or whether this is a matter of indifference. In the second passage, Plato asks what penalties should be imposed by the just state for homicide and suicide. He recommends separate burial for the suicide, as was the case in Greek custom, but he also identifies circumstances in which penalties are not to be imposed:judicial execution, disgrace, and the “stress of cruel and inevitable calamity.” Sloth—he may mean what is now understood as depression—and “want of manliness” or cowardice are identified as conditions in which burial penalties for suicide are to be imposed, though even here the penalties are much less severe than those for murder. Some commentators have seen in Plato’s discussion a nascent distinction between rational and irrational suicide, or suicide with and without good reason.

Sources The Dialogues of Plato, Apology, 38C-42A; Phaedo 61B-69E, 116A-118A; Republic III 405A-410A; Laws IX 853A-854D, 862D-863A, 872D-873E, tr. Benjamin Jowett, NewYork:Random House, 1892, 1920, Vol. I, pp. 444–453, 499–501; 669–674; Vol. II, pp. 599–600, 608, 617–618, available online at www.gutenberg,org from Project Gutenberg; www.constitution.org from the Constitution Society; classics.mit.edu from the Internet Classics Archive, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, respectively.

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from APOLOGY:SOCR ATES ON BEING

CONDEMNED TODEATH

... Not much time will be gained, O Athenians, in return for the evil name which you will get from the detractors of the city, who will say that you killed Socrates, a wise man; for they will call me wise, even although Iam not wise, when they want to reproach you. If you had waited a little while, your desire would have been fulfilled in the course of nature. For Iam far advanced in years, as you may perceive, and not far from death. Iam speaking now not to all of you, but only to those who have condemned me to death. ... The difficulty, my friends, is not to avoid death, but to avoid unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death. Iam old and move slowly, and the slower runner has overtaken me, and my accusers are keen and quick, and the faster runner, who is unrighteousness, has overtaken them. And now Idepart hence condemned by you to suffer the penalty of death,—they too go their ways condemned by the truth to suffer the penalty of villainy and wrong; and Imust abide by my award—let them abide by theirs. Isuppose that these things may be regarded as fated,—and Ithink that they are well. And now, O men who have condemned me, Iwould fain prophesy to you; for Iam about to die, and in the hour of death men are gifted with prophetic power....If you think that by killing men you can prevent some one from censuring your evil lives, you are mistaken; that is not a way of escape which is either possible or honourable; the easiest and the noblest way is not to be disabling others, but to be improving yourselves. This is the prophecy which Iutter before my departure to the judges who have condemned me. Friends, who would have acquitted me, Iwould like also to talk with you about the thing which has come to pass, while the magistrates are busy, and before Igo to the place at which Imust die. Stay then a little, for we may as well talk with one another while there is time. You are my friends, and Ishould like to show you the meaning of this event which has happened to me. O my judges—for you Imay truly call judges—I should like to tell you of a wonderful circumstance. Hitherto the divine faculty of which the internal oracle is the source has constantly been in the habit of opposing me even about trifles, if Iwas going to make a slip or error in any matter; and now as you see there has come upon me that which may be thought, and is generally believed to be, the last and worst evil. But the oracle made no sign of opposition, either when Iwas leaving my house in the morning, or when Iwas on my way to the court, or while Iwas speaking, at anything which Iwas going to say; and yet Ihave often been stopped in the middle of a speech, but now in nothing Ieither said or did touching the matter in hand has the oracle opposed me. What do Itake to be the explanation of this silence? Iwill tell you. It is an intimation that what has happened to me is a good, and that those of us who think that death is an evil are in error. For the customary sign would surely have opposed me had Ibeen going to evil and not to good. Let us reflect in another way, and we shall see that there is great reason to hope that death is a good; for one of two things—either death is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now if you suppose that there is no consciousness, but a sleep like the sleep of him who is undisturbed even by dreams, death will be an unspeakable gain.... Now if

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death be of such a nature, Isay that to die is gain; for eternity is then only a single night. But if death is the journey to another place, and there, as men say, all the dead abide, what good, O my friends and judges, can be greater than this? If indeed when the pilgrim arrives in the world below, he is delivered from the professors of justice in this world, and finds the true judges who are said to give judgment there, Minos and Rhadamanthus and Aeacus and Triptolemus, and other sons of God who were righteous in their own life, that pilgrimage will be worth making.... Above all, Ishall then be able to continue my search into true and false knowledge; as in this world, so also in the next; and Ishall find out who is wise, and who pretends to be wise, and is not.... In another world they do not put a man to death for asking questions:assuredly not. ...Wherefore, O judges, be of good cheer about death, and know of a certainty, that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death. He and his are not neglected by the gods; nor has my own approaching end happened by mere chance. But Isee clearly that the time had arrived when it was better for me to die and be released from trouble; whereforethe oracle gave no sign. For which reason, also, Iam not angry with my condemners, or with my accusers; they have done me no harm, although they did not mean to do me any good; and for this Imay gently blame them. . . . The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways—I to die, and you to live. Which is better God only knows.

from PHAEDO:THE DEATH OF SOCR ATES ... Tell this to Evenus, Cebes, and bid him be of good cheer; say that Iwould have him come after me if he be a wise man, and not tarry; and that to-day Iam likely to be going, for the Athenians say that Imust. Simmias said:What a message for such a man! having been a frequent companion of his Ishould say that, as far as Iknow him, he will never take your advice unless he is obliged. Why, said Socrates,—is not Evenus a philosopher? I think that he is, said Simmias. Then he, or any man who has the spirit of philosophy, will be willing to die, but he will not take his own life, for that is held to be unlawful. Here he changed his position, and put his legs off the couch on to the ground, and during the rest of the conversation he remained sitting. Why do you say, enquired Cebes, that a man ought not to take his own life, but that the philosopher will be ready to follow the dying? Socrates replied:And have you, Cebes and Simmias, who are the disciples of Philolaus, never heard him speak of this? Yes, but his language was obscure, Socrates. My words, too, are only an echo; but there is no reason why Ishould not repeat what Ihave heard:and indeed, as Iam going to another place, it is very meet for me to be thinking and talking of the nature of the pilgrimage which Iam about to make. What can Ido better in the interval between this and the setting of the sun?

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Then tell me, Socrates, why is suicide held to be unlawful? as I have certainly heard Philolaus, about whom you were just now asking, affirm when he was staying with us at Thebes:and there are others who say the same, although Ihave never understood what was meant by any of them. Do not lose heart, replied Socrates, and the day may come when you will understand. Isuppose that you wonder why, when other things which are evil may be good at certain times and to certain persons, death is to be the only exception, and why, when a man is better dead, he is not permitted to be his own benefactor, but must wait for the hand of another. Very true, said Cebes, laughing gently and speaking in his native Boeotian. I admit the appearance of inconsistency in what Iam saying; but there may not be any real inconsistency after all. There is a doctrine whispered in secret that man is a prisoner who has no right to open the door and run away; this is a great mystery which Ido not quite understand. Yet Itoo believe that the gods are our guardians, and that we are a possession of theirs. Do you not agree? Yes, Iquite agree, said Cebes. And if one of your own possessions, an ox or an ass, for example, took the liberty of putting himself out of the way when you had given no intimation of your wish that he should die, would you not be angry with him, and would you not punish him if you could? Certainly, replied Cebes. Then, if we look at the matter thus, there may be reason in saying that a man should wait, and not take his own life until God summons him, as he is now summoning me. Yes, Socrates, said Cebes, there seems to be truth in what you say. And yet how can you reconcile this seemingly true belief that God is our guardian and we his possessions, with the willingness to die which we were just now attributing to the philosopher? That the wisest of men should be willing to leave a service in which they are ruled by the gods who are the best of rulers, is not reasonable; for surely no wise man thinks that when set at liberty he can take better care of himself than the gods take of him. Afool may perhaps think so—he may argue that he had better run away from his master, not considering that his duty is to remain to the end, and not to run away from the good, and that there would be no sense in his running away. The wise man will want to be ever with him who is better than himself. Now this, Socrates, is the reverse of what was just now said; for upon this view the wise man should sorrow and the fool rejoice at passing out of life. The earnestness of Cebes seemed to please Socrates. Here, said he, turning to us, is a man who is always inquiring, and is not so easily convinced by the first thing which he hears. And certainly, added Simmias, the objection which he is now making does appear to me to have some force. For what can be the meaning of a truly wise man wanting to fly away and lightly leave a master who is better than himself? And Irather imagine that Cebes is referring to you; he thinks that you are too ready to leave us, and too ready to leave the gods whom you acknowledge to be our good masters. Yes, replied Socrates; there is reason in what you say. And so you think that Iought to answer your indictment as if Iwere in a court? We should like you to do so, said Simmias. Then Imust try to make a more successful defence before you than Idid when before the judges. For Iam quite ready to admit, Simmias and Cebes, that Iought to be grieved at death, if Iwere not persuaded in the first place that Iam going to other gods who are wise and good

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(of which Iam as certain as Ican be of any such matters), and secondly (though Iam not so sure of this last) to men departed, better than those whom Ileave behind; and therefore Ido not grieve as Imight have done, for Ihave good hope that there is yet something remaining for the dead, and as has been said of old, some far better thing for the good than for the evil. But do you mean to take away your thoughts with you, Socrates? said Simmias. Will you not impart them to us?—for they are a benefit in which we too are entitled to share. Moreover, if you succeed in convincing us, that will be an answer to the charge against yourself. I will do my best, replied Socrates. But you must first let me hear what Crito wants; he has long been wishing to say something to me. Only this, Socrates, replied Crito:—the attendant who is to give you the poison has been telling me, and he wants me to tell you, that you are not to talk much, talking, he says, increases heat, and this is apt to interfere with the action of the poison; persons who excite themselves are sometimes obliged to take a second or even a third dose. Then, said Socrates, let him mind his business and be prepared to give the poison twice or even thrice if necessary; that is all. I knew quite well what you would say, replied Crito; but Iwas obliged to satisfy him. Never mind him, he said. And now, O my judges, Idesire to prove to you that the real philosopher has reason to be of good cheer when he is about to die, and that after death he may hope to obtain the greatest good in the other world. And how this may be, Simmias and Cebes, Iwill endeavour to explain. For Ideem that the true votary of philosophy is likely to be misunderstood by other men; they do not perceive that he is always pursuing death and dying; and if this be so, and he has had the desire of death all his life long, why when his time comes should he repine at that which he has been always pursuing and desiring? Simmias said laughingly:Though not in a laughing humour, you have made me laugh, Socrates; for Icannot help thinking that the many when they hear your words will say how truly you have described philosophers, and our people at home will likewise say that the life which philosophers desire is in reality death, and that they have found them out to be deserving of the death which they desire. And they are right, Simmias, in thinking so, with the exception of the words 'they have found them out'; for they have not found out either what is the nature of that death which the true philosopher deserves, or how he deserves or desires death. But enough of them:—let us discuss the matter among ourselves:Do we believe that there is such a thing as death? To be sure, replied Simmias. Is it not the separation of soul and body? And to be dead is the completion of this; when the soul exists in herself, and is released from the body and the body is released from the soul, what is this but death? Just so, he replied. There is another question, which will probably throw light on our present inquiry if you and Ican agree about it:—Ought the philosopher to care about the pleasures—if they are to be called pleasures—of eating and drinking? Certainly not, answered Simmias. And what about the pleasures of love—should he care for them? By no means.

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And will he think much of the other ways of indulging the body, for example, the acquisition of costly raiment, or sandals, or other adornments of the body? Instead of caring about them, does he not rather despise anything more than nature needs? What do you say? I should say that the true philosopher would despise them. Would you not say that he is entirely concerned with the soul and not with the body? He would like, as far as he can, to get away from the body and to turn to the soul. Quite true. In matters of this sort philosophers, above all other men, may be observed in every sort of way to dissever the soul from the communion of the body. Very true. Whereas, Simmias, the rest of the world are of opinion that to him who has no sense of pleasure and no part in bodily pleasure, life is not worth having; and that he who is indifferent about them is as good as dead. That is also true. What again shall we say of the actual acquirement of knowledge? —is the body, if invited to share in the enquiry, a hinderer or a helper? Imean to say, have sight and hearing any truth in them? Are they not, as the poets are always telling us, inaccurate witnesses? and yet, if even they are inaccurate and indistinct, what is to be said of the other senses?—for you will allow that they are the best of them? Certainly, he replied. Then when does the soul attain truth?—for in attempting to consider anything in company with the body she is obviously deceived. True. Then must not true existence be revealed to her in thought, if at all? Yes. And thought is best when the mind is gathered into herself and none of these things trouble her—neither sounds nor sights nor pain nor any pleasure,—when she takes leave of the body, and has as little as possible to do with it, when she has no bodily sense or desire, but is aspiring after true being? Certainly. And in this the philosopher dishonours the body; his soul runs away from his body and desires to be alone and by herself? That is true. Well, but there is another thing, Simmias:Is there or is there not an absolute justice? Assuredly there is. And an absolute beauty and absolute good? Of course. But did you ever behold any of them with your eyes? Certainly not. Or did you ever reach them with any other bodily sense?—and Ispeak not of these alone, but of absolute greatness, and health, and strength, and of the essence or true nature of everything. Has the reality of them ever been perceived by you through the bodily organs? or rather, is not the nearest approach to the knowledge of their several natures made by him who so orders his intellectual vision as to have the most exact conception of the essence of each thing which he considers? Certainly.

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And he attains to the purest knowledge of them who goes to each with the mind alone, not introducing or intruding in the act of thought sight or any other sense together with reason, but with the very light of the mind in her own clearness searches into the very truth of each; he who has got rid, as far as he can, of eyes and ears and, so to speak, of the whole body, these being in his opinion distracting elements which when they infect the soul hinder her from acquiring truth and knowledge—who, if not he, is likely to attain the knowledge of true being? What you say has a wonderful truth in it, Socrates, replied Simmias. And when real philosophers consider all these things, will they not be led to make a reflection which they will express in words something like the following? ‘Have we not found,’ they will say, ‘a path of thought which seems to bring us and our argument to the conclusion, that while we are in the body, and while the soul is infected with the evils of the body, our desire will not be satisfied? and our desire is of the truth. For the body is a source of endless trouble to us by reason of the mere requirement of food; and is liable also to diseases which overtake and impede us in the search after true being:it fills us full of loves, and lusts, and fears, and fancies of all kinds, and endless foolery, and in fact, as men say, takes away from us the power of thinking at all. Whence come wars, and fightings, and factions? whence but from the body and the lusts of the body? wars are occasioned by the love of money, and money has to be acquired for the sake and in the service of the body; and by reason of all these impediments we have no time to give to philosophy; and, last and worst of all, even if we are at leisure and betake ourselves to some speculation, the body is always breaking in upon us, causing turmoil and confusion in our enquiries, and so amazing us that we are prevented from seeing the truth. It has been proved to us by experience that if we would have pure knowledge of anything we must be quit of the body—the soul in herself must behold things in themselves:and then we shall attain the wisdom which we desire, and of which we say that we are lovers, not while we live, but after death; for if while in company with the body, the soul cannot have pure knowledge, one of two things follows—either knowledge is not to be attained at all, or, if at all, after death. For then, and not till then, the soul will be parted from the body and exist in herself alone. In this present life, Ireckon that we make the nearest approach to knowledge when we have the least possible intercourse or communion with the body, and are not surfeited with the bodily nature, but keep ourselves pure until the hour when God himself is pleased to release us. And thus having got rid of the foolishness of the body we shall be pure and hold converse with the pure, and know of ourselves the clear light everywhere, which is no other than the light of truth.' ... Wherefore, Isay, let a man be of good cheer about his soul, who having cast away the pleasures and ornaments of the body as alien to him and working harm rather than good, has sought after the pleasures of knowledge; and has arrayed the soul, not in some foreign attire, but in her own proper jewels, temperance, and justice, and courage, and nobility, and truth—in these adorned she is ready to go on her journey to the world below, when her hour comes. You, Simmias and Cebes, and all other men, will depart at some time or other. Me already, as the tragic poet would say, the voice of fate calls. Soon Imust drink the poison.... ... When he had spoken these words, he arose and went into a chamber to bathe; Crito followed him and told us to wait. So we remained behind, talking and thinking of the subject of discourse, and also of the greatness of our sorrow; he was like a father of whom we were being bereaved, and we were about to pass the rest of our lives as orphans. When he had taken the bath his children were brought to him—(he had two young sons and an elder one); and the

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women of his family also came, and he talked to them and gave them a few directions in the presence of Crito; then he dismissed them and returned to us. Now the hour of sunset was near, for a good deal of time had passed while he was within. When he came out, he sat down with us again after his bath, but not much was said. Soon the jailer, who was the servant of the Eleven, entered and stood by him, saying:—To you, Socrates, whom Iknow to be the noblest and gentlest and best of all who ever came to this place, Iwill not impute the angry feelings of other men, who rage and swear at me, when, in obedience to the authorities, Ibid them drink the poison—indeed, Iam sure that you will not be angry with me; for others, as you are aware, and not I, are to blame. And so fare you well, and try to bear lightly what must needs be—you know my errand. Then bursting into tears he turned away and went out. Socrates looked at him and said:Ireturn your good wishes, and will do as you bid. Then turning to us, he said, How charming the man is:since Ihave been in prison he has always been coming to see me, and at times he would talk to me, and was as good to me as could be, and now see how generously he sorrows on my account. We must do as he says, Crito; and therefore let the cup be brought, if the poison is prepared:if not, let the attendant prepare some. ... Crito made a sign to the servant, who was standing by; and he went out, and having been absent for some time, returned with the jailer carrying the cup of poison. Socrates said:You, my good friend, who are experienced in these matters, shall give me directions how Iam to proceed. The man answered:You have only to walk about until your legs are heavy, and then to lie down, and the poison will act. At the same time he handed the cup to Socrates, who in the easiest and gentlest manner, without the least fear or change of colour or feature, looking at the man with all his eyes, Echecrates, as his manner was, took the cup and said:What do you say about making a libation out of this cup to any god? May I, or not? The man answered:We only prepare, Socrates, just so much as we deem enough. Iunderstand, he said:but Imay and must ask the gods to prosper my journey from this to the other world—even so—and so be it according to my prayer. Then raising the cup to his lips, quite readily and cheerfully he drank off the poison. And hitherto most of us had been able to control our sorrow; but now when we saw him drinking, and saw too that he had finished the draught, we could no longer forbear, and in spite of myself my own tears were flowing fast; so that Icovered my face and wept, not for him, but at the thought of my own calamity in having to part from such a friend. Nor was Ithe first; for Crito, when he found himself unable to restrain his tears, had got up, and Ifollowed; and at that moment, Apollodorus, who had been weeping all the time, broke out in a loud and passionate cry which made cowards of us all. Socrates alone retained his calmness:What is this strange outcry? he said. Isent away the women mainly in order that they might not misbehave in this way, for Ihave been told that a man should die in peace. Be quiet, then, and have patience. When we heard his words we were ashamed, and refrained our tears; and he walked about until, as he said, his legs began to fail, and then he lay on his back, according to the directions, and the man who gave him the poison now and then looked at his feet and legs; and after a while he pressed his foot hard, and asked him if he could feel; and he said, No; and then his leg, and so upwards and upwards, and showed us that he was cold and stiff. And he felt them himself, and said:When the poison reaches the heart, that will be the end. He was beginning to grow cold about the groin, when he uncovered his face, for he had covered himself up, and said—they were his last words—he said:Crito, Iowe a cock to Asclepius; will you remember to pay the debt?

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The debt shall be paid, said Crito; is there anything else? There was no answer to this question; but in a minute or two a movement was heard, and the attendants uncovered him; his eyes were set, and Crito closed his eyes and mouth. Such was the end, Echecrates, of our friend; concerning whom Imay truly say, that of all the men of his time whom Ihave known, he was the wisest and justest and best.

from R EPUBLIC:BOOK III ... when intemperance and disease multiply in a State, halls of justice and medicine are always being opened; and the arts of the doctor and the lawyer give themselves airs, finding how keen is the interest which not only the slaves but the freemen of a city take about them. Of course. And yet what greater proof can there be of a bad and disgraceful state of education than this, that not only artisans and the meaner sort of people need the skill of first-rate physicians and judges, but also those who would profess to have had a liberal education? ... Well, Isaid, and to require the help of medicine, not when a wound has to be cured, or on occasion of an epidemic, but just because, by indolence and a habit of life such as we have been describing, men fill themselves with waters and winds, as if their bodies were a marsh, compelling the ingenious sons of Asclepius to find more names for diseases, such as flatulence and catarrh; is not this, too, a disgrace? Yes, he said, they do certainly give very strange and newfangled namesto Diseases... ... in former days, as is commonly said, before the time of Herodicus, the guild of Asclepius did not practise our present system of medicine, which may be said to educate diseases. But Herodicus, being a trainer, and himself of a sickly constitution, by a combination of training and doctoring found out a way of torturing first and chiefly himself, and secondly the rest of the world. How was that? he said. By the invention of lingering death; for he had a mortal disease which he perpetually tended, and as recovery was out of the question, he passed his entire life as a valetudinarian; he could do nothing but attend upon himself, and he was in constant torment whenever he departed in anything from his usual regimen, and so dying hard, by the help of science he struggled on to old age. A rare reward of his skill! Yes, I said; a reward which a man might fairly expect who never understood that, if Asclepius did not instruct his descendants in valetudinarian arts, the omission arose, not from ignorance or inexperience of such a branch of medicine, but because he knew that in all well-ordered states every individual has an occupation to which he must attend, and has therefore no leisure to spend in continually being ill. This we remark in the case of the artisan, but, ludicrously enough, do not apply the same rule to people of the richer sort. How do you mean? he said. I mean this:When a carpenter is ill he asks the physician for a rough and ready cure; an emetic or a purge or a cautery or the knife, and these are his remedies. And if some one

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prescribes for him a course of dietetics, and tells him that he must swathe and swaddle his head, and all that sort of thing, he replies at once that he has no time to be ill, and that he sees no good in a life which is spent in nursing his disease to the neglect of his customary employment; and therefore bidding good-bye to this sort of physician, he resumes his ordinary habits, and either gets well and lives and does his business, or, if his constitution falls, he dies and has no more trouble. Yes, he said, and a man in his condition of life ought to use the art of medicine thus far only. ... And therefore our politic Asclepius may be supposed to have exhibited the power of his art only to persons who, being generally of healthy constitution and habits of life, had a definite ailment; such as these he cured by purges and operations, and bade them live as usual, herein consulting the interests of the State; but bodies which disease had penetrated through and through he would not have attempted to cure by gradual processes of evacuation and infusion:he did not want to lengthen out good-for-nothing lives, or to have weak fathers begetting weaker sons; and if a man was not able to live in the ordinary way he had no business to cure him; for such a cure would have been of no use either to himself, or to the State. ... This is the sort of medicine, and this is the sort of law, which you sanction in your State. They will minister to better natures, giving health both of soul and of body; but those who are diseased in their bodies they will leave to die, and the corrupt and incurable souls they will put an end to themselves. That is clearly the best thing both for the patients and for the State.

from LAWS ... Athenian Stranger. There is a sense of disgrace in legislating, as we are about to do, for all the details of crime in a state which, as we say, is to be well regulated and will be perfectly adapted to the practice of virtue... ... not without a provident eye to the weakness of human nature generally, Iwill proclaim the law about robbers of temples and similar incurable, or almost incurable, criminals. Having already agreed that such enactments ought always to have a short prelude, we may speak to the criminal, whom some tormenting desire by night and by day tempts to go and rob a temple, the fewest possible words of admonition and exhortation:--O sir, we will say to him, the impulse which moves you to rob temples is not an ordinary human malady, nor yet a visitation of heaven, but a madness which is begotten in a man from ancient and unexpiated crimes of his race, an ever-recurring curse;-against this you must guard with all your might, and how you are to guard we will explain to you. When any such thought comes into your mind, go and perform expiations, go as a suppliant to the temples of the Gods who avert evils, go to the society of those who are called good men among you; hear them tell and yourself try to repeat after them, that every man should honour the noble and the just. Fly from the company of the wicked--fly and turn not back; and if your disorder is lightened by these remedies, well and good, but if not, then acknowledge death to be nobler than life, and depart hence.... ...When any one commits any injustice, small or great, the law will admonish and compel him either never at all to do the like again, or never voluntarily, or at any rate in a far less degree;

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and he must in addition pay for the hurt. Whether the end is to be attained by word or action, with pleasure or pain, by giving or taking away privileges, by means of fines or gifts, or in whatsoever way the law shall proceed to make a man hate injustice, and love or not hate the nature of the just-this is quite the noblest work of law. But if the legislator sees any one who is incurable, for him he will appoint a law and a penalty. He knows quite well that to such men themselves there is no profit in the continuance of their lives, and that they would do a double good to the rest of mankind if they would take their departure, inasmuch as they would be an example to other men not to offend, and they would relieve the city of bad citizens. In such cases, and in such cases only, the legislator ought to inflict death as the punishment of offences ... ... There are things about which it is terrible and unpleasant to legislate, but impossible not to legislate. ... And what shall he suffer who slays him who of all men, as they say, is his own best friend? I mean the suicide, who deprives himself by violence of his appointed share of life, not because the law of the state requires him, nor yet under the compulsion of some painful and inevitable misfortune which has come upon him, nor because he has had to suffer from irremediable and intolerable shame, but who from sloth or want of manliness imposes upon himself an unjust penalty. For him, what ceremonies there are to be of purification and burial God knows, and about these the next of kin should enquire of the interpreters and of the laws thereto relating, and do according to their injunctions. They who meet their death in this way shall be buried alone, and none shall be laid by their side; they shall be buried ingloriously in the borders of the twelve portions the land, in such places as are uncultivated and nameless, and no column or inscription shall mark the place of their interment.

AR ISTOTLE (384–322 b.c.) from Nicomachean Ethics

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher and scientist, was born in Macedonia. He moved to Athens at about age 17 or 18 and became a student of philosophy under the tutelage of Plato. He remained in Athens for the next 20years, where he continued his studies and became a teacher at Plato’s Academy. With the death of Plato in 347 b.c., Aristotle traveled to Asia Minor and counseled the ruler Hermias. He married Hermias’ adopted daughter Pythias, but was forced to flee to Lesbos, where he carried out research in zoology and marine biology, when Hermias was seized and executed by the Persians. In 343 or 342, Aristotle was called to Macedonia, where he tutored Philip II of Macedon’s son Alexander, who would later be known as Alexander the Great. About the time Alexander became ruler in Macedonia, Aristotle returned to Athens and founded his own school, the Lyceum, which for the next decade served as the center of Aristotle’s explorations into virtually every field of inquiry. In 323, following the death of Alexander, an anti-Macedonian movement

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gained power in Athens, and Aristotle was forced to retire to a family-owned estate in Euboea, where he died a year later. Very few of Aristotle’s own writings survive today, although a large corpus of his lecture notes, most likely delivered orally and written down by students, exists in an edited arrangement prepared by the first-century b.c. editor Andronicus. This extensive body of thought includes treatments of almost all branches of philosophy, politics, and art. Some of the best known of these works are Physics, Metaphysics, On the Soul, Politics, Poetics, and the Nicomachean Ethics, dedicated to his son Nicomachus. The Nicomachean Ethics, from which the selection in this volume is taken, is an exploration of the virtues of intellect and characte in relationship to happiness. In it, Aristotle formulates what is called the doctrine of the mean as applicable to virtues of character, exhibited in behavior:one should try to achieve the “mean” between opposing excesses. For example, to achieve the ideal of courage, one should try to seek the mean between cowardice and foolhardiness, a mean modified by one’s circumstances but nevertheless functioning as an intermediate between extremes. In this discussion of courage, from which the first selection is taken, Aristotle maintains that committing suicide to avoid pain or other undesirable circumstances is a cowardly act. In a later chapter, he further argues that suicide is unlawful and is an act committed against the interests of the state.

Source Aristotle, Ethica Nicomachea, Book III, vii. 5–13, 1115a-1116a; Book V, xi, 1138a, ed. and tr. W. D. Ross. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1925, pp. 155–163, 317–319.

from NICOMACHEAN ETHICS ... it is for a noble end that the brave man endures and acts as courage directs... The coward... is a despairing sort of person; for he fears everything. The brave man, on the other hand, has the opposite disposition; for confidence is the mark of a hopeful disposition. The coward, the rash man, and the brave man, then, are concerned with the same objects but are differently disposed towards them; for the first two exceed and fall short, while the third holds the middle, which is the right, position; and rash men are precipitate, and wish for dangers beforehand but draw back when they are in them, while brave men are keen in the moment of action, but quiet beforehand. As we have said, then, courage is a mean with respect to things that inspire confidence or fear, in the circumstances that have been stated; and it chooses or endures things because it is noble to do so, or because it is base not to do so. But to die to escape from poverty or love or anything painful is not the mark of a brave man, but rather of a coward; for it is softness to fly from what is troublesome, and such a man endures death not because it is noble but to fly from evil.... * ** Whether a man can treat himself unjustly or not, is evident from what has been said. For (a)one class of just acts are those acts in accordance with any virtue which are prescribed by the law; e.g. the law does not expressly permit suicide, and what it does not expressly permit it forbids. Again, when a man in violation of the law harms another (otherwise than in retaliation)

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voluntarily, he acts unjustly, and a voluntary agent is one who knows both the person he is affecting by his action and the instrument he is using; and he who through anger voluntarily stabs himself does this contrary to the right rule of life, and this the law does not allow; therefore he is acting unjustly. But towards whom? Surely towards the state, not towards himself. For he suffers voluntarily, but no one is voluntarily treated unjustly. This is also the reason why the state punishes; a certain loss of civil rights attaches to the man who destroys himself, on the ground that he is treating the state unjustly.

MENCIUS (c. 372–c. 289 b.c.) from The Mencius

Meng Ke, the Chinese Confucian philosopher whose honorific name Mengzi (Meng-tzu) is Latinized as “Mencius,” was, like Confucius [q.v.], born in what is now Shandong province. Also like Confucius, Mencius’ profession was primarily teaching; he is said to have studied under a pupil of the grandson of Confucius, Zisi (according to tradition, he studied under Zisi himself). Mencius lived during the Warring States period, a time of considerable political corruption and dictatorial rule, and traveled for about 40years from one state to another attempting to persuade rulers of the need for reform and how to accomplish it. He also served as a scholar and official at the Jixia Academy in the state of Qi, but took a three-year absence for mourning after the death of his mother, and was revered for this expression of filial piety. Respected as one of its principal interpreters, Mencius developed an intuitionist form of Confucianism. Mencius expands Confucius’s humanism by maintaining that human nature is originally and intrinsically good, though it may be corrupted by negative societal influences. The Mencius, said to be a record of his conversations with kings during his years of itinerant travel, was probably compiled by Mencius’ pupils after his death. Together with the Analects of Confucius and two other classic texts, Mencius’ work served as the basis of the imperial civil service examinations. Although Mencius does not explore the issue of suicide explicitly, the famous passage traditionally translated “I like fish and Ialso like bear’s paw” shows that there are occasions on which one may not— indeed should not—attempt to preserve one’s own life, but should sacrifice it for a greater good, righteousness. The bear’s paw, or bear’s palm, passage is often compared with Confucius’ Analects, 15.9 and exhibits some of the same tensions over obligations to sacrifice one’s life yetalso preserve one’s body.

Sources The Book of Mencius, Book VI, Part A, 10, tr. Eirik Lang Harris. Some interpretive material concerning the traditional “bear’s paw” phrase is found in Wing-Tsit Chan, tr. and ed., A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963, 6A10, 6A14-6A15, pp. 57–59. Interpretive material also from Eirik Lang Harris.

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from THE MENCIUS Mencius said:“Fish is something Idesire. Bear paw is also something Idesire. But if Icannot have them both, Iwould give up the fish and choose the bear paw. Life is something Idesire. Righteousness is also something Idesire. But if Icannot have them both, Iwould give up life and choose righteousness. Life is something that Idesire, but there is something that Idesire more than life, and so Iwill not be unscrupulous in pursuing life. Death is something that Ihate, but there is something that Ihate more than death, and so there are perils that Iwill not avoid. If it were such that there was nothing that one desired more than life, then, if there were some means that would help one continue living, what would one not use? If it were such that there was nothing that one hated more than death, then if there were some means that would help one avoid peril, what would one not do? From this, then, we see that there are means of staying alive that will not be employed and also that there are means for avoiding peril that will not be used. Therefore, there are desires that are greater than the desire for life and hatreds greater than the hatred of death. It is not merely the sage who has this heart; people all have it, it is just that the sage never loses it. “Consider the case where, if one gets a [single] basket of food and a bowl of stew, one will live, if one does not get them, one will die. However, if they are insultingly provided, even travelers on the road would not accept them. If they are trampled upon and then provided, even a beggar would disdain them. Yet when it comes to a salary of ten thousand measures of grain, one accepts it without regard to ritual and righteousness. What does this salary add to one? Should one accept for the sake of a beautiful estate? For the respect of a wife and concubines? For the indebtedness of impoverished and needy relatives? Previously, when it was a case of life or death, one would not accept what was offered, but now when it is a matter of a beautiful estate one does. Previously, when it was a case of life or death, one would not accept what was offered, but now for the sake of the respect of a wife and concubines, one does. Previously, when it was a case of life or death, one would not accept what was offered, but now for the sake of the indebtedness of impoverished and needy relatives, one does. Is there no way of stopping this? This is called losing one’s fundamental heart.”

QU YUAN (c. 340–278 b.c.) Embracing Sand

Qu Yuan (Ch’ü Yüan, also known as Ch’ü P’ing), is traditionally recognized as the chief author of the poetry from the Chu Ci anthology (The Songs of the South). This anthology is a collection of

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Chu poetry edited by Wang Yi, a librarian in service of the emperor Han Shundi in the 2nd century a.d. Chu poetry is defined by certain characteristic elements of style and form that were originally used by poets of the Chu kingdom, a political power in what is now southern China that reached the height of its influence in the 4th century b.c. According to a biography by Sima Qian [q.v.] dating from early in the 1st century b.c., Qu Yuan belonged to the royal house of Chu and was a foreign ambassador and valued servant to King Huai (ruled 328–299 b.c.) during the Warring States period (variously dated 475 or 403 to 221 b.c.), when expanding states were engaged in bloody mutual aggression as the old feudal system was giving way to political centralization. In Sima Qian’s account, a high-ranking administrator of the court who was envious of Qu Yuan’s favor with the king attempted to take credit for some of Qu Yuan’s writings. When Qu Yuan refused to comply, the official made allegations to the king that Qu Yuan was boastful and proud, and Qu Yuan thus fell into disfavor with King Huai. The king’s eldest son inherited the throne, but he, like his father, was also subject to the influence of deceitful advisors. Qu Yuan criticized the new king’s poor judgment and was banished to a remote part of the kingdom. In protest, he drowned himself in the Miluo River. Qu Yuan’s best known work is “Li sao” (“On Encountering Trouble”), a long poem in autobiographical form in which the poet describes himself as a nobleman descended from an ancient legendary ruler and depicts the growing disillusionment of an idealistic young man who has come to see that the world is filled with corrupt people and institutions. He plans to abandon the world and join the holy dead, symbolized by Peng Xian, who according to the original compiler of The Songs of the South, Wang Yi, was an upright minister at the court of one of the Shang kings, who drowned himself when his good advice was not taken. Qu Yuan’s poem “Li Sao” concludes with the followinglines:

Enough! There are no true men in the state:no one understands me. Why should Icleave to the city of my birth? Since none is worthy to work with in making good government, I shall go and join Peng Xian in the place where he abides. “Embracing Sand,” presented here, is sometimes understood as an expansion of these final four lines of the earlier poem. “Embracing Sand” was Qu Yuan’s suicide note: he is said to have written the poem and then clasped a large stone to his bosom to drown himself in the Miluo River. Thus the title “Embracing Sand” is presumed to refer to the practice of filling the bosom of one’s robe with sand in order to drown oneself, much as Japanese suicides are said to have filled their sleeves with sand or gravel. Qu Yuan clearly represents his impending suicide as an example of resolve and personal restraint, as well as an escape from sorrow and grief, though a background of wounded dignity and angry pride is also evident, based in the disillusionment and isolation of an idealist much like that he had earlier expressed in “On Encountering Trouble.” Qu Yuan is still commemorated in China, as well as in Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Malaysia, with dragon-boat races on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the day he is believed to have drowned himself. Aspecial variety of sticky-rice dumpling, wrapped in leaves and steamed, is thrown into the

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river to feed, according to different accounts, Qu Yuan in his afterlife or as a distraction for the fish and dragons that would otherwise eat Qu Yuan’s body.

Sources Qu Yuan, quotation from “Li sao” (“On Encountering Trouble”) and text from “Jiu zhang” (“Nine Pieces”), V, and “Huai sha” (“Embracing Sand”) from The Songs of the South. An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets, tr. David Hawkes, London: Penguin Books, 1985, pp. 78, 170–172; see also Li Sao and Other Poems of Chu Yuan, Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang, trs., Peking:Foreign Languages Press, 1955, p.xi.

EMBR ACING SAND In the teeming late summer When flowers and trees burgeon, My heart with endless sorrow laden, Forth Iwent to the southern land. Eyes strain unseeing into the hazy gloom Where a great quiet and stillness reign. Disquieted and tormented, I have met sorrow and long been afflicted. I soothed my feelings, sought my purposes, Bowed to my wrongs and still restrained myself. Let others trim square to fit the round: I shall not cast the true measure away. To change his first intent and alter his course Is a thing the noble man disdains. I made my marking clear; Iset my mind on the ink-line; My former path Idid not change. Inwardly sound and of honest substance, In this the great man excels so richly. But when Chui the Cunning is not carving, Who can tell how true a line he cuts? When dark brocade is placed in the dark, The dim-eyed will say that it has no pattern. And when Li Lou peers to discern minutest things, The purblind think that he must be sightless.

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White is changed to black; The high cast down and the low made high; The phoenix languishes in a cage, While hens and ducks can gambol free. Jewels and stones are mixed together, And in the same measure meted. The courtier crowd are low and vulgar fellows; They cannot understand the things Iprize. Great was the weight Icarried, heavy the burdens Ibore; But Isank and stuck fast in the mire and could not get across. A jewel Iwore in my bosom, a gem Iclasped in my hand; But, helpless, Iknew no way whereby Icould make them seen. The dogs of the village bark in chorus; They bark when they do not comprehend. Genius they condemn and talent they suspect— Stupid and boorish that their manner is! Art and nature perfected lay within me hidden; But the crowd did not know of the rare gifts that were mine. Unused materials Ihad in rich store; Yet no one knew the things that Ipossessed. I multiplied kindness, redoubled righteousness; Care and probity Ihad in plenty. But it was not my lot to meet such as Chong Hua; So who could understand my behaviour? It has always been so—this failure of happy meeting; Though Ido not know what can be the reason. Tang and Yu lived a great while ago— Too remote for me to long for! I must curb my rebelling pride and check my anger, Restrain my heart, and force myself to bow. I have met sorrow, but still will be unswerving; I wish my resolution to be an example. Along my road Iwill go, and in the north halt my journey. But the day is dusky and turns towards the evening. I will unlock my sorrow and ease my grief, And end it all in the Great End.

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Luan The mighty waters of the Yuan and Xiang with surging swell go   rolling on their way; The road is long, through places dark and drear, a way far and  forlorn. The nature Icherish in my bosom, the feelings Iembrace, there are   none to judge. For when Bo Le is dead and gone, how can the wonder-horse go  coursing? The lives of all men on the earth have each their ordained lot. Let my heart be calm and my mind at ease:why should Ibe afraid? Yet still, in mounting sorrow and anguish, long Ilament and sigh. For the world is muddy-witted; none can know me; the heart of   man cannot be told. I know that death cannot be avoided, therefore Iwill not grudge its  coming. To noble men Ihere plainly declare that Iwill be numbered with   such as you.

CHRYSIPPUS (c. 280–c. 206 b.c.) The Stoics’ Five Reasons for Suicide

Chrysippus, to whom von Armin attributes the fragment provided here (though it may be the work of one of his successors) was born at Soli in Cilicia. Chrysippus, a disciple of Cleanthes, became the third head of the Stoic school at Athens. Founded by Zeno of Citium, Stoic philosophy had begun as a recognizable movement around 300 b.c.. Only fragments of the writings of the early Stoics remain, for the most part preserved by quotation in the works of later thinkers. Under the guidance of Chrysippus, Stoicism developed into a full philosophical discipline. Stoicism remained one of the most influential and fruitful philosophical movements in the Graeco-Roman world for more than 500years. Chrysippus was particularly known for his work in logic, especially in developing formal propositional logic, rather than for providing practical advice on how to live one’s life, as were the efforts to varying extent of later Stoic thinkers like Epictetus [q.v.], Seneca [q.v.], and Marcus Aurelius. Nevertheless, in this fragment, Chrysippus encapsulates Stoic thinking on the matter of how to live— and end—one’s life. The passage presented here gives the five reasons recognized by the Stoics as

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adequate for suicide. Asimilar passage appears in Olympiodorus’ later commentary on Plato’s [q.v.] Phaedo.

Sources Ioannes ab Arnim, ed., Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta, Vol. 3, para. 768, Stuttgart:B. G.Teubner, 1903, pp. 190–191, tr. Yukio Kachi. Some material in the introduction is from Nicholas White, tr. and ed., Handbook of Epictetus (Indianapolis/Cambridge:Hackett, 1983), pp. 1–2.

THE STOICS’ FIVE R EASONS FORSUICIDE But the Stoic philosophers too understood philosophy to be the practice of death, and for this reason they wrote of five ways of reasonable departure from life. For... life is like a great party in which the soul seems to feast, and all the ways of reasonable departure from life correspond to the ways in which a party is broken up. Now, a party is broken up in five ways:1)because a pressing matter suddenly turns up—for instance, a friend appears after a long absence, and you and the friend get up in delight to walk out and the party is broken up. Or 2), because revelers rush in, shouting obscenities; the party is likewise broken up. Or 3)because the meats served are spoiled, or 4)because the provisions have run out, or 5)because of drunken stupor, a party is broken up. Reasonable departures from life take place in the same five ways:1)because a pressing matter turns up, as in the case of someone commanded by the Pythia [the oracle of Apollo at Delphi] to slit his throat to save his own city, on the brink of destruction. Or 2)because tyrants rush in, forcing us to do shameful deeds or say forbidden things; or 3)because a serious illness prevents the soul from using the body as an instrument for a long time. For this reason Plato too does not approve of the dietetic part of medicine, because of its effect of moderating the disease and turning it into a chronic condition, but approves of the surgical and the pharmaceutical parts, to which Archigenes, the army doctor, resorted. So Sophocles toosays:

It will not become a good doctor To chant incantations over a malady calling for the knife. (Ajax, 582) Or 4)because of poverty, as Theognis says well:“... Escaping from poverty, it is necessary to....” Or 5)because of dementedness. For just as drunken stupor would break up a party there, so here too can one have oneself depart from life because of dementedness. For being demented is nothing but natural intoxication, and intoxication, nothing but self-induced dementia. The same consideration applies here.

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SIMA QIAN (c. 145/135–86 b.c.) Records of the Grand Historian The Basic Annals of Xiang Yu (in Archive only) The Assassin and hisSister Letter in Reply to Ren Shaoqing (expanded in Archive)

Sima Qian (Ssu-ma Ch’ien), whose father had been Grand Historian of China and who in 107 b.c. himself assumed that role, spent most of his life at the court of the Emperor Wu, the strong-willed emperor who brought the golden age of the Han dynasty to the peak of its power. Sima Qian’s father, Sima Tan, in transforming the role of Grand Historian from duties largely involving astrology and divination to that of a true chronicler of the past, planned to write a work of history and had begun to collect material for it; it was in accord with his dying father’s wish that Sima Qian assumed and expanded this task. Sima Qian’s writings, especially in their terseness and reliance upon dramatic episodes in which the historian makes his characters speak aloud, have remained the model for many of the major historical works in later ages in China, Korea, and Japan. His principal work, the Shi Ji, or Records of the Grand Historian, in 130 chapters, is a collection of biographies that provides a history of the Chinese people and foreign peoples known to China from the earliest times to his own. It provides a comprehensive history of every society then known over a period of time reaching back over 2,000years. Sima Qian was a meticulous researcher who traveled widely throughout China in search of historical information. He explains that his purpose is to “examine the deeds and events of the past and investigate the principles behind their success and failure, their rise and decay.” Yetalthough Sima Qian chronicles the rise and fall of multitudinous societies in a pattern typically beginning with the virtuous, wise ruler of a new house to its ultimate decline with an evil or inept ruler, the one thing he sees as approaching permanence in the midst of change is the lasting power of goodness:as Burton Watson describes Sima Qian’s view, “Evil destroys the doer, but good endures, through the sons of the father, the subjects of the ruler, the disciple of the teacher. It is the function of the historian to prolong the memory of goodness by preserving its record for all ages to see.” The first selection presented here is a portion of the lengthy biography Sima Qian gives in the Records of the Grand Historian of the great Xiang Yu (Hsiang Yü), the powerful military leader of Chu who, seeking to become emperor, fought the Han for control of various states of China in a struggle called the Chu-Han Contention (206–202 b.c.) following the collapse of the Qin (Ch’in) Dynasty. Huge—Xiang Yu was over six feet tall—cunning, and ruthless, he was famed for his bravery and capacity for treachery. His main rival was Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty as Emperor Gaozu. Although he had defeated Liu Bang and the Han armies in battle on many occasions, Xiang Yu made a series of unwise military decisions that finally resulted in Liu’s troops surrounding him. The selection given here portrays Xiang Yu’s military decline:it opens as Xiang Yu, surrounded, hears the singing of Chu songs and thus knows that most of his own people have deserted him. Sima Qian

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closes the account of Xiang Yu’s suicide with his own commentary on both the greatness of Xiang Yu’s triumphs and the character flaws that led to his downfall. The second selection, an account given both in the Zhan Guo Ce (Strategies of the Warring States), a near-contemporary historical work of unknown authorship, and in the Records of the Grand Historian, contrasts two suicides:that of the assassin Nie Zheng (Nieh Cheng, c. 375 b.c.), employed as a dog butcher, who in his excessive concern for loyalty to his patron Yan Zhongzi (Yan Sui) mutilates himself in his act of suicide so that he cannot be recognized after killing Yan Zhongzi’s enemy, the grand minister of Han, Xia Lei (Hsia Lei), so that through him his employer might not also be identified and the cycle of revenge might end. He is followed in death by his older sister Rong ( Jung)—to whom Sima Qian gives a name even though she is a woman, because she, unlike her brother, chooses the right time to die:after she has revealed the identity of Nie Zheng’s corpse and thus assured the preservation of his name. Her suicide is an act of self-sacrifice to grant fame to another. (In fact, Rong says that her brother mutilated himself to protect her—presumably from potential vengeful harm to her for what he did or the infamy of being the sister of an assassin—not a self-centered act at all.) The third selection provided here is Sima Qian’s famous letter to Ren Shaoqing ( Jen Shao-ch’ing), in which he tries to justify his own failure to commit suicide, even though the circumstances were such as to invite or even require it. Sima Qian had been condemned to imprisonment and castration by Emperor Wu for speaking out in defense of Li Ling, a general who had finally surrendered to the enemy when only a fraction of his army remained; the emperor had expected Li Ling to die with his men—as, indeed, such heroes as Xiang Yu had done. Sima Qian’s letter, written after the punishment of castration had been imposed, gives his reasons for not killing himself, even though it was customary under such circumstances for men of honor to commit suicide and even though he sees himself as “a mutilated being who dwells in degradation” (the letter uses the word “shame” 19 times). Many of the heroes Sima Qian had described so vividly in his Records of the Grand Historian had committed suicide in dramatic ways—not only Xiang Yu, but Li Guang and General Fan, who like Xiang Yu slit their own throats for reasons of honor and service to the state. But Sima Qian himself does not do so; he chooses instead to bear his disgrace in order to complete his manuscript and justify himself in the eyes of posterity. After the castration, and after Emperor Wu had realized his own role in Li Ling’s defeat by failing to send him reinforcements, Sima Qian became Palace Secretary and enjoyed considerable honor and favor. Sima Qian’s letter itself was preserved in The Book of Han, a history written and compiled by Ban Biao, Ban Gu, and finally finished by Ban Zhao in 111 a.d.

Sources “The Basic Annals of Xiang Yu” in Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty I, Han Dynasty II, trans. Burton Watson. Hong Kong and NewYork:Columbia University Press, rev. ed. 1993, Vol. 1, pp.17–18, 43–48, quoted and paraphrased in biographical note from introductions to both volumes; story of the assassin and his sister from Szuma Chien, Selections from Records of the Historian, tr. Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang, Peking:Foreign Languages Press, 1979; “Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Letter in Reply to Jen Shao-ch’ing” in Burton Watson, Ssu-ma Ch’ien. Grand Historian of China. NewYork:Columbia University Press, 1958, pp. 57–67. See also Stephen W.Durrant, The Cloudy Mirror:Tension and Conflict in the Writings of Sima Qian, Albany, NY:State University of NewYork Press, 1995, pp. 9, 105–109.

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from RECORDS OF THE GRAND

HISTORIAN

THE ASSASSIN AND HIS SISTER Nie Zheng was a native of Shenjing Village in the district of Zhi. Having killed a man, he escaped with his mother and elder sister to Qi where he set up as a butcher. Later Yan Sui of Puyang, who owed allegiance to Marquis Ai of Hann, offended the chief minister Xia Lei and fled to escape punishment, searching everywhere for a man who would kill Xia Lei for him. When he reached Qi, he heard Nie Zheng was a brave man who was living as a butcher to avoid vengeance. Yan Sui called him several times, then he prepared a feast in honour of Nie Zheng’s mother at which he presented her with a hundred pieces of gold. Amazed by such munificence, Nie Zheng declined the gift. When Yan Sui insisted he said, “I am blessed with an aged mother. Though Iam but a poor stranger in these parts, Iam able to supply her daily food and clothing by selling dog meat. Since Ican provide for her, Idare not accept your gift.” Yan Sui sent the others away and told Nie Zheng, “I have an enemy. Reaching Qi after travelling through many states, Iheard that you, Sir, were a man with a high sense of honour. “So Iam offering you a hundred gold pieces to supply food and clothing for your mother and to win your friendship. Iwant no other return.” Nie Zheng replied, “I have lowered my ambitions and humbled myself to sell meat in the market solely for my mother’s sake. While she lives, I cannot promise my services to anyone.” He could not be prevailed upon to accept, whereupon Yan Sui took a courteous leave of him. In due time Nie Zheng’s mother died. After she was buried and the mourning over Nie Zheng said, “I am a poor stall-keeper wielding a butcher’s cleaver, while Yan Sui is a state minister; yet he came with a thousand li in his carriage to seek my friendship. Idid very little for him, performed no great services to deserve his favour, yet he offered my mother a hundred pieces of gold; and though Idid not accept, this shows how well he appreciated me. His longing for revenge made this worthy gentleman place his faith in one so humble and obscure. How, then, can Iremain silent? Previously Iignored his overture for my mother’s sake. Now that my mother has died of old age, Imust serve this man who appreciates me.” So he went west to Puyang to see Yan Sui and told him, “I refused you before because my mother was still alive, but now she has died of old age. Who is the man on whom you want to take vengeance? Iam at your service.” Then Yan Sui told him the whole story, saying, “My enemy is Xia Lei, chief minister of Hann and uncle of the marquis of Hann. He has many clansmen and his residence is closely guarded. All my attempts to assassinate him have failed. Since you are good enough to help me, Ican supply you with chariots, cavalry and men.” “Hann is not far from Wei, and we are going to kill the chief minister who is also the ruler’s uncle,” said Nie Zheng. “In these circumstances, too many men would make for trouble and word might get out. Then the whole of Hann would become your enemy and that would be disastrous.”

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So refusing all assistance, he bid farewell and carrying his sword went alone to the capital of Hann. Xia Lei, seated in his office, was surrounded by a host of guards and armed attendants; but Nie Zheng, marching straight in and up the steps, stabbed the minister to death. The attendants, in utter confusion, were set upon with loud cries by Nie Zheng, till several dozen of them were laid low. Then he gashed his face, gouged out his eyes and stabbed himself so that his guts spilled out and he died. Nie Zheng’s corpse was exposed in the market-place in Hann and inquiries were made but no one knew who he was. Areward of thousand gold pieces was offered for identifying the assassin, but time passed without any news. Then Nie Zheng’s sister Rong heard of Xia Lei’s assassination and the large reward offered for the identification of his unknown assassin, whose corpse had been exposed. “Can this be my brother?” she sobbed. “Ah, how well Yan Sui understood him!” She went to the market-place in Hann and found that it was indeed he. Falling on the corpse she wept bitterly and cried, “This is Nie Zheng from Shenjing Village in Zhi!” The people in the market warned her, “This man savagely murdered our chief minister and the king—has offered a thousand gold pieces for his name. Did you not know this? Why do you come to identify him?” “I knew this,” she replied. “But he humbled himself to live as a tradesman in the market because our mother died and I had no husband. After our mother died and I was married, Yan Sui raised him from his squalor to be his friend. How else could he repay Yan Sui’s great kindness? Aman should die for a friend who knows his worth. Because Iwas still alive, he mutilated himself to hide his identity. But how can I, for fear of death, let my noble brother perish unknown?” This greatly astounded the people in the market. Having called aloud on heaven three times, she wailed in anguish and died beside her brother. Word of this reached Jin, Chu, Qi and Wei, and everyone commented, “Not only was Nie Zheng able, but his sister was a remarkable woman too.” Nie Zheng might never have given his life for Yan Sui had he known that his sister, with her strong resolution, would not balk at his corpse exposed in the market-place and take the long difficult journey to make his name known and perish by his side. Yan Sui certainly was a good judge of character able to find loyal helpers!

LETTER IN REPLY TO REN SHAOQING A man has only one death. That death may be as weighty as Mount Tai, or it may be as light as a goose feather. It all depends upon the way he uses it. Above all, a man must bring no shame to his forbears. Next he must not shame his person, nor be shameful in his countenance, nor in his words. Below such a one is he who suffers the shame of being bound, and next he who bears, and next he who bears the shame of marked clothing. Next is the man bound and fettered who knows the shame of rod and thorn, and the man who bears the shame of the shaved head and the binding manacle. Below again is the shame of mutilated flesh and severed limbs. Lowest of all is the extreme penalty, the “punishment of rottenness!”

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The Commentary says:“ Punishments shall not extend to the high officials.” This means that a gentleman must be ever careful of proper conduct. When the fierce tiger dwells in the deep hills, all the other beasts tremble with fear. But when he is in the trap or the cage, he wags his tail and begs for food, for he has been gradually overawed and broken. Therefore there are cases when, even though one were to draw a circle on the ground and call it a prison, a gentleman would not enter, or though one carved a wooden image and set it up as a judge, a gentleman would not contend with it, but would settle the affair for himself in accordance with what is right. But when a man has been bound hand and foot with stocks and ropes, has been stripped to the skin and flogged with rods, and plunged into the depths of encircling walls, at that time when he sees the judge he strikes his head upon the ground and when he looks at the jailers his heart gasps with fear. Why? Because he has been gradually overawed and broken by force. Aman must be thick-skinned indeed if he come to this and yet say, “I am not ashamed!” What respect could people have for such a man? Xi Bo was an earl, and yet he was imprisoned at Youli. Li Si was prime minister, yet he suffered all the five punishments. Han Xin was a king, but he was put into fetters at Chen. Peng Yue and Zhang Ao faced south and called themselves independent, but they were both dragged to prison and punished. The Marquis of Jiang overthrew and punished all the Lü family; his power exceeded that of the Five Protectors of old, yet he was imprisoned in the Inquiry Room. The Marquis of Weiqi was a great general, yet he wore the red clothing and was bound with three fetters. Ji Bu was a manacled slave for Zhu Jia, and Guan Fu suffered shame in the prison of Jushi. All these men achieved the positions of feudal lords, generals, or ministers, and their fame reached to neighboring lands. But when they were accused of crimes and sentence was passed upon them, there was not one who could settle the matter with his hands by committing suicide. In the dust and filth of bondage, it has ever been the same, past and present. How in such circumstances can a man avoid shame? From this you can see that “bravery and cowardice are only a matter of circumstance; strength and weakness are only a matter of the conditions.” This is certain. Is there any reason to wonder at it? Furthermore, if a man does not quickly make his decision to settle things for himself outside the law, but waits until he has sunk lower and lower, till he lies beneath the whip and lash, and then decides to save his honor by suicide, is it not too late? This is probably the reason why the ancients hesitated to administer punishments to officials. It is the nature of every man to love life and hate death, to think of his relatives and look after his wife and children. Only when a man is moved by higher principles is this not so. Then there are things which he must do. Now Ihave been most unfortunate, for Ilost my parents very early. With no brothers or sisters or close relations, Ihave been left alone an orphan. And you yourself, Shaoqing, have seen me with my wife and child, and know how things are. Yet the brave man does not necessarily die for honor, while even the coward may fulfill his duty. Each takes a different way to exert himself. Though Imight be weak and cowardly and seek shamelessly to prolong my life, yet Iknow full well the difference between what ought to be followed and what rejected. How could I bring myself to sink into the shame of ropes and bonds? If even the lowest slave and scullion maid can bear to commit suicide, why should not one like myself be able to do what has to be done? But the reason Ihave not refused to bear these ills and have continued to live, dwelling in vileness and disgrace without taking my leave, is that Igrieve that Ihave things in my heart which Ihave not

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been able to express fully, and Iam shamed to think that after Iam gone my writings will not be known to posterity. Too numerous to record are the men of ancient times who were rich and noble and whose names have yet vanished away. It is only those who were masterful and sure, the truly extraordinary men, who are still remembered. When the Earl of the West was imprisoned at Youli, he expanded the Changes; Confucius was in distress and he made the Spring and Autumn; Qu Yuan was banished and he composed his poem “Encountering Sorrow”; after Zuo Qiu lost his sight, he composed the Narratives from the States; when Sunzi had had his feet amputated, he set forth the Art of War; Lü Buwei was banished to Shu but his Spring and Autumn of Mr. Lü has been handed down through the ages; while Han Feizi was held prisoner in Qin, he wrote “The Difficulties of Disputation” and “The Sorrow of Standing Alone”; most of the three hundred poems of the Book of Odes were written when the sages poured forth their anger and dissatisfaction. All these men had a rankling in their hearts, for they were not able to accomplish what they wished. Therefore they wrote about past affairs in order to pass on their thoughts to future generations. Those like Zuo Qiu, who was blind, or Sunzi, who had no feet, could never hold office, so they retired to compose books in order to set forth their thoughts and indignation, handing down their theoretical writings in order to show to posterity who they were. Itoo have ventured not to be modest but have entrusted myself to my useless writings. Ihave gathered up and brought together the old traditions of the world which were scattered and lost. Ihave examined the deeds and events of the past and investigated the principles behind their success and failure, their rise and decay, in one hundred and thirty chapters. Iwished to examine into all that concerns heaven and man, to penetrate the changes of the past and present, completing all as the work of one family. But before Ihad finished my rough manuscript, Imet with this calamity. It is because Iregretted that it had not been completed that Isubmitted to the extreme penalty without rancor. When I have truly completed this work, I shall deposit it in the Famous Mountain. If it may be handed down to men who will appreciate it, and penetrate to the villages and great cities, then though Ishould suffer a thousand mutilations, what regret should Ihave? Such matters as these may be discussed with a wise man, but it is difficult to explain them to ordinary people. It is not easy to dwell in poverty and lowliness while base men multiply their slanderous counsels. Imet this misfortune because of the words Ispoke. Ihave brought upon myself the scorn and mockery even of my native village and Ihave soiled and shamed my father’s name. With what face can Iagain ascend and stand before the grave mound of my father and mother? Though a hundred generations pass, my defilement will only become greater. This is the thought that wrenches my bowels nine times each day. Sitting at home, Iam befuddled as though Ihad lost something. Igo out, and then realize that Ido not know where Iam going. Each time Ithink of this shame, the sweat pours from my back and soaks my robe. Iam now no more than a servant in the harem. How could Ileave of my own accord and hide away in some mountain cave? Therefore Ifollow along with the vulgar, floating and sinking, bobbing up and down with the times, sharing their delusions and madness. Now you, Shaoqing, have advised me to recommend worthy men and promote scholars. But would not such a course be at odds with my own intent? Now although Ishould try to add glory and fame to myself, or with fine words seek to excuse my error, it would have no effect upon the vulgar. Iwould not be believed, but would only take upon myself further shame. Only after the day of death shall right and wrong at last be determined.

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I cannot convey in writing my full meaning, but Ihave ventured to set forth brief my unworthy opinion.

MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO (106–43 b.c.) from Tusculan Disputations (expanded in Archive) from On Ends (in Archive only) from On Old Age

Cicero, the great Roman orator and statesman, was born in Arpinum, near Rome, into a prosperous equestrian family. Cicero began his career as a lawyer and served in the military before later deciding to train as an orator. From the beginning, he gained a reputation for his rhetorical skill, defending an alleged patricide in his first major case and accusing friends of the dictator Sulla of the murder. Presumably due to political threats, Cicero spent the year 78 b.c. abroad in Asia Minor, Athens, and Rhodes. In 75 b.c., he was made quaestor in Sicily. Cicero made a favorable impression on the Sicilians, who engaged him in the prosecution of their disreputable governor Verres, who had usurped much of the province’s wealth. After the reading of Cicero’s first oration, Verres voluntarily withdrew and went into exile. The publishing of the orations and subsequent political alliances led Cicero to a rapid series of promotions from aedile to praetor and finally to consul. Cicero’s quick action in opposing his rival, L.Sergius Catilina, whose attempt at consulship had failed, and convincing the senate of the dangers of an uprising won Cicero popular acclaim, but he had also had the conspirators executed without a trial. The hasty executions were controversial and left a mark on his political reputation. He was banished, recalled, sent as governor to Cicilia in Asia Minor, and when he returned, he sided first with Pompey in the Civil War and then later with Caesar. Cicero’s writings include philosophical and political discourses, books of rhetoric, orations, poetry, and letters. He was particularly interested in how philosophical teachings might be applied to the actual situations of human life. Cicero often used dialogue as a vehicle for his philosophical discourse, drawing freely on his broad understanding of Hellenistic thought, including late Platonic and Academic, Aristotelian and Peripatetic, Stoic, and Epicurean sources. When he was 62, Cicero’s beloved daughter Tullia died in childbirth. Cicero then left politics, retiring to his Tusculan villa to devote himself to philosophical studies and writing. He is said to have made it his custom to invite his friends to the villa for philosophical conversations, and the Tusculan Disputations (45 b.c.) are said to be the legacy of five days of discussion of questions concerning how to overcome the fear of death, how to endure pain, the immortality of the soul, suicide, the moderation of

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passion, virtue, and related matters. They are dialogues of unique form, found nowhere else in Cicero’s writings; in them one speaker is dominant (though unnamed, it is clearly Cicero himself) and objections are minimized. On Old Age (44 b.c.), said to be one of Cicero’s most loved and admired works, addresses when it is proper to leave life in one’s later years; On Ends, in which the speaker is the Stoic Cato, addresses some apparent paradoxes concerning the question. In both the Tusculan Disputations and On Old Age, Cicero expresses equanimity concerning the prospect of death:one should not fear death, since either the soul will be extinguished at death or, as he says he believes, it will go to a place of eternal life, and hence one will either lack unhappiness or be positively happy. (He does not consider a third possibility, that of a painful afterlife, or hell.) Self-elected death may play a role, but need not do so:in this characteristically Stoic view, the wise man, like an actor, does not have to appear all the way through the play “until the curtain is rung down” or live a life extended into old age; what matters is how well life is lived, not how long. Cicero’s view of old age is optimistic, yet he says, “... the old must not grasp greedily after those last few years of life, nor must they walk out on them without cause.” Supporting Octavian after the assassination of Caesar in 44 b.c., he delivered a series of censorious orations (the “Philippics”) against Antony, who was gathering support for Caesar’s memory. However, when Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus (the Second Triumvirate) were reconciled, Cicero’s name appeared on a list of citizens whose lives were pronounced forfeit to the state. He was murdered leaving his country estate at Formiae, and his head and hands were presented to Antony and nailed to the rostrum in the Forum. In all, he had lived through five revolutions.

Sources Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, I:34–36, tr. J. E. King, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967, pp. 97, 99, 101, 103; “On Ends,” 3.60–61, trs. A. A. Long and D. N. Sedley, The Hellenistic Philosophers, Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1987, p.425; On Old Age, Part4, pp. xix 70; xx 72–76; xxiii 85; tr. Frank O.Copley, Ann Arbor, MI:University of Michigan Press, 1967, pp. 35, 36–38, 42.

from TUSCULAN DISPUTATIONS I see that you have lofty aims and that you wish to be a pilgrim heavenward. Ihope that this will be our lot. But suppose, as these thinkers hold, that souls do not survive after death:Isee that in the case we are deprived of the hope of a happier life. But what evil does such a view imply? For suppose that the soul perishes like the body:is there then any definite sense of pain or sensation at all in the body after death? There is no one who says so, though Epicurus accuses Democritus of this, but the followers of Democritus deny it. And so there is no sensation in the soul either, for the soul is nowhere. Where, then is the evil, since there is no third thing? Is it because the actual departure of soul from body does not take place without sense of pain? Though Ishould believe this to be so, how petty a matter it is! But Ithink it False, and the fact is that after the departure takes place without sensation, sometimes even with a feeling of pleasure; and the

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whole thing is trivial, whatever the truth, for departure takes place in a moment of time. What does cause anguish, or rather torture, is the departure from all those things that are good in life. Take care it may not more truly be said, from all its evils! Why should Inow bewail the life of Man? Icould do so with truth and justice. But what need is there, when my object is to avoid the thought that we shall be wretched after death, of rendering life still more wretched by lamentation? We have done this in the book in which we did our utmost to console ourselves. Death then withdraws us from evil, not from good, if truth is our object. Indeed this thought is discussed by Hegesias the Cyrenaic with such wealth of illustration that the story goes that he was stopped from lecturing on the subject by King Ptolemy, because a number of his listeners afterwards committed suicide. There is an epigram of Callimachus’ upon Cleombrotus of Ambracia who, he says, without having met with any misfortune, flung himself from the city wall into the sea after reading Plato’s book. Now in the book of Hegesias whom Ihave mentioned, Apokerteron, there appears a man who was passing away from life by starvation and is called back by his friends, and in answer to their remonstrances, details the discomforts of human life. Icould do the same, but Ishould not go so far as he does in thinking it no advantage at all for anyone to live. Other cases Iwave aside:is it an advantage still to me? Ihave been robbed of the consolations of family life and the distinctions of a public career, and assuredly, if we had died before this happened, death would have snatched us from evil, not from good.

from ON OLD AGE An actor, in order to find favor, does not have to take part all the way through a play; he need only prove himself in any act in which he may appear; similarly the wise and good man does not have to keep going until the curtain is rung down. A brief span of years is quite long enough for living a good and honorable life; and if that span should be prolonged, we must not weep and wail about it, any more than farmers weep and wail at the coming of summer and autumn, after sweet springtime has passed. Spring, you see, symbolizes youth, and, as it were, displays the fruits that are to come; the remaining ages have been set up for the reaping and garnering of the fruits. Now there is no fixed point at which old age must end, and we may properly go on living as long we can maintain and carry out our obligations... and make light of death; the result is that old age may be even more spirited than youth, and braver, too. This is the meaning of Solon’s reply to Pisistratus, who had asked him what gave him the courage to resist him so boldly; Solon, we are told, replied, “My years.” But life comes to its best end when, with mind unimpaired and senses intact, nature herself breaks up the fabric to which she first gave form and order. Now in every case, things freshly put together are hard to pull apart; things that have gotten old come to pieces with ease. It follows that the old must not grasp greedily after those last few years of life, nor must they walk out on them without cause. Pythagoras has said that we are not to leave our post and station in life except by order of our commanding officer, that is, of God. There is the epitaph of

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Solon the Wise, too, in which he declares that his death must not pass unwept and unhonored by his friends. Isuppose he wants them to show that they loved him; but Irather think that Ennius put it better:

“Let none shed tears to show respect for me nor make a moaning at my obsequies.” He thought it improper to weep and wail over death, since death was our entry into eternal life. As for the act of dying, we may have some sensation there, but it will be no more than momentary, especially for the old. After death there will be either a pleasant sensation, or no sensation at all. In any event, from our youngest years we must train ourselves to make light of death, since the man who does not so train himself can never have peace of mind. For die we must, and for all we know, on this very day. Every minute of every hour, death hangs over us; if we live in terror of it, how can we keep our sanity? It seems unnecessary to discuss the matter at such great length, when Irecall Lucius Brutus— how he died in the act of setting his country free, or the Two Decii, who spurred their horses on to a death they freely chose, or Marcus Atilius, who marched off to the torture-chamber to keep the promise he had made to an enemy, or the two Scipios, who tried with their own bodies to block the advance of the Carthaginians, or your grandfather Lucius Paulus, who died to atone for the foolhardiness of his colleague at the battle of Cannae, or Marcus Marcellus, whose death even that most bloodthirsty of enemies would not permit to pass unhonored by burial—when I think, too, of our legionaries who, as I wrote in my Origins, have marched on many occasions briskly and with heads held high, into positions from which they never expected to return. Here then is something that young men have made light of—and young men who were not just uneducated but downright illiterate:are old men who have had all the advantages of education to fear a thing like that? From a more general point of view, it seems to me that once we have had our fill of all the things that have engaged our interest, we have had our fill of life itself. There are interests that are proper to childhood:does a full-grown man regret their loss? There are interests that belong to early manhood:when we reach full maturity—what is called “Middle age”—do we look back to them with longing? Middle age itself has its special concerns; even these have lost their attraction for the old. Finally, there are interests peculiar to old age; these fall away, too, just as did those of the earlier years. When this has happened, a sense of the fullness of life tells us that it is time to die. It is for these reasons, Scipio—for it was this that you told me you and Laelius were forever admiring—that old age is easy for me to bear, and is not only not painful, but positively a joy. And if Iam deluded in believing that the soul of man is immortal, then Iam glad to be deluded, and Ihope no one, as long as Ilive, will ever wrench this delusion from me. If on the other hand, as certain petty philosophers have held, Ishall have no sensation when Iam dead, then Ineed have no fear that deceased philosophers will make fun of this delusion of mine. And even if we are not destined to live forever, it is no more than right that when his time has come, a man should die. For nature has set a proper limit on living as on all other things. Yes, old age is, so to speak, the last scene in the play; when we find it beginning to be

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tiresome we should beat a hasty retreat from it, especially when we feel as if we had seen all this before, entirely too many times.

THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA (c. 100 b.c.) On Suicide

The Milindapañha, or The Questions of King Milinda, sometimes assigned to one of the “three baskets” of the Pali canon of early Buddhist texts by the Burmese edition, is usually understood as a paracanonical text of Theravada Buddhism, the earlier, more conservative of the two principal branches of Buddhism. Theravada, closer to the teachings of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (c. 563–483 b.c.), emphasizes the ideal of the arhat, the enlightened individual in his progress towards nirvana. Mahayana in contrast stresses the ideal of the boddhisattva, dedicated to helping others achieve enlightenment. The Questions of King Milinda consist of a dialogue between the Indo-Greek king Menander I, who reigned about 155–130 b.c. and was one of the Bactrian kings to invade farthest into India, and the Buddhist monk Mahathera Nagasena, believed to have been a historical figure who was sent to the kingdoms of Bactria as a Buddhist missionary at the time of Menander’s rule. Menander (known as Milinda in Buddhist traditions), who was arrogant and impatient because he could not find an intellect sufficiently keen to explain the teachings of Buddhism, found his match in Nagasena. The dating of the text is difficult, but it could not have originated earlier than the reign of Menander in the 2nd century b.c., and it is known that the book was translated into Chinese sometime between 317 and 420 a.d. Most scholars place the composition of the Questions around 100 b.c. or a century later, possibly as late as the end of the 2nd century a.d.. According to legend, the Questions were compiled by the same monk who speaks in the dialogue, Nagasena. The Questions of King Milinda is a significant and valuable work for many reasons. It records one of the earliest meetings between Buddhist and Hellenistic cultures; it gives a historical view of the 2nd-century Bactrian milieu; and it provides a nearly comprehensive understanding of Theravada Buddhist thought. Some of the important topics raised in the dialogue are the nature of truth, the problem of evil, why philosophical inquiry is unavailing in these issues, and how the process of rebirth occurs. In one portion of the text, King Menander asks how the Buddha can teach the need to overcome “old age, disease, and death” while proscribing suicide as a means to avoid these evils; he points out an apparent contradiction in Buddhist teaching, since it both prohibits suicide but also encourages the putting of an end to life in its doctrine of escape from suffering and rebirth. Nagasena then explains why the Buddha forbade self-killing, citing the reason that a person who is truly good, who is “full of benefit to all beings” should not “be done away with.” According to The Questions and to Buddhist legend,

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although not historically confirmed, Menander abdicated his throne as a result of his encounter with Nagasena and joined the Buddhist sangha.

Sources Milindapañha. The Questions of King Milinda, Part I, sections 13–15, tr. T. W.Rhys Davids, in The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 35, ed. F. Max Müller, Oxford, UK:Clarendon Press, 1890. Dover reprint, 1963, pp. 273–278, available online at www.sacred-texts.com, from the Internet Sacred Texts Archive.

ON SUICIDE ‘Venerable Nâgasena, it has been said by the Blessed One:“A brother is not, O Bhikkhus, to commit suicide. Whosoever does so shall be dealt with according to the law.” And on the other hand you (members of the Order) say:“On whatsoever subject the Blessed One was addressing the disciples, he always, and with various similes, preached to them in order to bring about the destruction of birth, of old age, of disease, and of death. And whosoever overcame birth, old age, disease, and death, him did he honour with the highest praise.” Now if the Blessed One forbade suicide that saying of yours must be wrong, but if not then the prohibition of suicide must be wrong. This too is a double-edged problem now put to you, and you have to solve it.’ ‘The regulation you quote, O king, was laid down by the Blessed One, and yet is our saying you refer to true. And there is a reason for this, a reason for which the Blessed One both prohibited (the destruction of life), and also (in another sense) instigated us to it.’ ‘What, Nâgasena, may that reason be?’ ‘The good man, O king, perfect in uprightness, is like a medicine to men in being an antidote to the poison of evil, he is like water to men in laying the dust and the impurities of evil dispositions, he is like a jewel treasure to men in bestowing upon them all attainments in righteousness, he is like a boat to men inasmuch as he conveys them to the further shore of the four flooded streams (of lust, individuality, delusion, and ignorance), he is like a caravan owner to men in that he brings them beyond the sandy desert of rebirths, he is like a mighty rain cloud to men in that he fills their hearts with satisfaction, he is like a teacher to men in that he trains them in all good, he is like a good guide to men in that he points out to them the path of peace. It was in order that so good a man as that, one whose good qualities are so many, so various, so immeasurable, in order that so great a treasure mine of good things, so full of benefit to all beings, might not be done away with, that the Blessed One, O king, out of his mercy towards all beings, laid down that injunction, when he said:“A brother is not, O Bhikkhus, to commit suicide. Whosoever does so shall be dealt with according to the law.” This is the reason for which the Blessed One prohibited (self-slaughter). And it was said, O king, by the Elder Kumâra Kassapa, the eloquent, when he was describing to Pâyâsi the Râganya the other world:“So long as Samanas and Brahmans of uprightness of life, and beauty of character, continue to exist—however long that time may be—just so long do they conduct themselves to the advantage and happiness of the great masses of the people, to the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men!’ ”

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‘And what is the reason for which the Blessed One instigated us (to put an end to life)? Birth, O king, is full of pain, and so is old age, and disease, and death. Sorrow is painful, and so is lamentation, and pain, and grief, and despair. Association with the unpleasant is painful, and separation from the pleasant. The death of a mother is painful, or of a father, or a brother, or a sister, or a son, or a wife, or of any relative. Painful is the ruin of one’s family, and the suffering of disease, and the loss of wealth, and decline in goodness, and the loss of insight. Painful is the fear produced by despots, or by robbers, or by enemies, or by famine, or by fire, or by flood, or by the tidal wave, or by earthquake, or by crocodiles or alligators. Painful is the fear of possible blame attaching to oneself, or to others, the fear of punishment, the fear of misfortune. Painful is the fear arising from shyness in the presence of assemblies of one’s fellows, painful is anxiety as to one’s means of livelihood, painful the foreboding of death. Painful are (the punishments inflicted on criminals), such as being flogged with whips, or with sticks, or with split rods, having one’s hands cut off, or one’s feet, or one’s hands and feet, or one’s ears, or one’s nose, or one’s ears and nose. Painful are (the tortures inflicted on traitors)—being subjected to the Gruel Pot (that is, having boiling gruel poured into one’s head from the top of which the skull bone has been removed)—or to the Chank Crown (that is, having the scalp rubbed with gravel till it becomes smooth like a polished shell)—or to the Râhu’s Mouth (that is, having one’s mouth held open by iron pins, and oil put in it, and a wick lighted therein)—or to the Fire Garland or to the Hand Torch (that is, being made a living torch, the whole body, or the arms only, being wrapped up in oily cloths, and set on fire)—or to the Snake Strips (that is, being skinned in strips from the neck to the hips, so that the skin falls in strips round the legs) or to the Bark Dress (that is, being skinned alive from the neck downwards, and having each strip of skin as soon as removed tied to the hair, so that these strips form a veil around one)—or to the Spotted Antelope (that is, having one’s knees and elbows tied together, and being made to squat on a plate of iron under which a fire is lit)—or to the Flesh-hooks (that is, being hung up on a row of iron hooks)—or to the Pennies (that is, having bits cut out of the flesh, all over the body, of the size of pennies)—or to the Brine Slits (that is, having cuts made all over one’s body by means of knives or sharp points, and then having salt and caustic liquids poured over the wounds)—or to the Bar Turn (that is, being transfixed to the ground by a bar of iron passing through the root of the ear, and then being dragged round and round by the leg)—or to the Straw Seat (that is, being so beaten with clubs that the bones are broken, and the body becomes like a heap of straw)—or to be anointed with boiling oil, or to be eaten by dogs, or to be impaled alive, or to be beheaded. Such and such, O king, are the manifold and various pains which a being caught in the whirlpool of births and rebirths has to endure. Just, O king, as the water rained down upon the Himâlaya mountain flows, in its course along the Ganges, through and over rocks and pebbles and gravel, whirlpools and eddies and rapids, and the stumps and branches of trees which obstruct and oppose its passage,—just so has each being caught in the succession of births and rebirths to endure such and such manifold and various pains. Full of pain, then, is the continual succession of rebirths, a joy is it when that succession ends. And it was in pointing out the advantage of that end, the disaster involved in that succession, that the Blessed One, great king, instigated us to get beyond birth, and old age, and disease, and death by the realisation of the final end of that succession of rebirths. This is the sense, O king, which led the Blessed One to instigate us (to put an end to life).’

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‘Very good, Nâgasena! Well solved is the puzzle (I put), well set forth are the reasons (you alleged). That is so, and Iaccept it as you say.’ [Here ends the problem as to suicide.]

LIVY (59 b.c.–17 a.d.) from The History of Rome:The Rape of Lucretia (expanded in Archive)

Livy, or Titus Livius, Roman historian, was born in 59 b.c., according to St. Jerome, and died in 17 a.d. in Patavium, now the north Italian city of Padua. Livy lived much of his life in Rome during the rule of Caesar Augustus. He received the education of one from a wealthy background in philosophy and probably rhetoric, except that his education did not culminate in the usual period of study in a Greek city and his Greek was faulty. He never saw military duty, nor took part in politics. By 30 b.c., Livy had moved to Rome, where he came to know Augustus. About this time, Livy began his monumental Ab Urbe Condita or History of Rome from its Foundation, usually called The History of Rome. It provides an account of Rome from its founding in 753 b.c. down to 9 b.c. Only 35 of the original 142 books (chapters) of The History survive in complete form, though summaries exist for all of the books save two. Livy’s political purpose in writing this work was to depict Rome as destined to rise from modest beginnings to greatness, and as was the practice of historians of his time, he includes many reconstructed speeches of important figures as purportedly verbatim accounts. However, Livy apparently shared the popular view of the time that Rome had morally degenerated from its comparatively virtuous beginnings. Today The History is valued more for its style and dramatic technique than for its historical accuracy. In The History, Livy narrates the rape of a Roman matron, Lucretia, the wife of Collatinus, by Sextus Tarquinius, son of the king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud), the seventh and last king of Rome (reigned 534/535–509/510 b.c.). This notorious incident led to the downfall of the Tarquin royal family and the establishment of a new republic under Lucius Brutus. Lucretia’s suicide, one of the most famous incidents of early Roman history and understood as representing a Stoic ideal and a model of womanly virtue, has been widely portrayed in art and literature in subsequent centuries. Lucretia’s suicide has also provoked subsequent commentary by many authors in various traditions on the question of whether self-killing can be an appropriate response following, or to prevent, sexual violation.

Sources Titus Livius, The History of Rome, Vol. L, ed. Ernest Rhys, tr. Rev. Canon Roberts, London:J. M.Dent and Sons; NewYork:E. P.Dutton and Co., 1912, 1926. Also online at etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/ Liv1His.html.

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THE HISTORY OF ROME:THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA The two Tarquins conceived the desire to ask which of them would succeed their father as king of Rome. From the inmost recess of the sanctuary this response is said to have issued:‘Whoever of you, my lads, first brings a kiss to his mother shall hold supreme power at Rome.’ The Tarquins gave orders that no one say anything about this:they intended to keep their brother Sextus back in Rome in the dark and eliminate him as a possible successor. Between them they agree to draw lots to determine which, on reaching Rome, would be the first to kiss his mother. But Brutus thought the pythia’s words meant something quite different. Pretending to slip, he fell to the ground and pressed his lips to the earth, the mother of us all. Upon returning to Rome they found that preparations for war against the Rutuli were in full swing. These people inhabited the city of Ardea and were very wealthy for that time and place. Their wealth was the cause of the war:Tarquin wanted to enrich himself, now that his resources were exhausted from his many pubic works, and to mollify the plebeians with Ardea’s plunder, for they disliked his rule both because of his general arrogance and because of their resentment at having been kept at work fit for ordinary workmen and slaves. Tarquin tried to take Ardea in an initial assault, but when this did not succeed, he fell back on blockading the city from behind siegeworks. A permanent camp grew up and, as happens in a war that is long but not hard-fought, furloughs were freely granted, but more for the officers than the rank and file. Now the young princes of the royal house were in the habit of spending their free time feasting and carousing among themselves. It so happened that when they were drinking in the quarters of Sextus Tarquinius, where Tarquinius Collatinus, the son of Egerius, was one of the guests, they fell to discussing their wives. Each man praised his own extravagantly. When the dispute heated up, Collatinus said there was no need of talk. Why, in a few hours they could see for themselves that his Lucretia was the best of the lot. ‘We’re young and red-blooded. Why don’t we ride off and see with our own eyes just what sort of wives we’ve got? The surest proof will be what each man finds when he shows up unexpectedly.’ By this time they were quite drunk. ‘Well then, let’s go!’ Spurring their horses they flew off to Rome. The evening shadows were lengthening when they came upon the royal princesses feasting and frolicking with their friends. Then they sped off to Collatia:though the evening was late, they found Lucretia still in the main hall of her home, bent over her spinning and surrounded by her maids as they worked by lamplight. Lucretia was the clear winner of the contest. She graciously welcomed her husband and the Tarquins as they approached; Collatinus, happy in his victory, issued a comradely invitation for the royal young men to come in. When Sexton Tarquin set eyes upon her he was sized by the evil desire to debauch her, spurred on as he was by her beauty and redoubtable chastity. In the meantime, with the youthful lark now at an end, they returned to camp. After a few days Sexton Tarquin, without Collatinus’ knowledge, came to Collatia with a single companion. He was graciously welcomed, for no one suspected what he was up to, and after dinner was shown to a guest room. When the household was safely asleep, in the heat of passion he came to the sleeping Lucretia sword in hand and, pressing his hand on her breast, whispered, ‘Say no word, Lucretia. Iam Sexton Tarquin. There is a sword in my hand. You die if you make a sound.’ She awoke in fright, and when she realized she could not call for help with the

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threat of death hanging over her, Tarquin confessed his passion, pleaded with her, intermingling threats with entreaties and working in every way upon her feeling as a woman. When he saw she was resolute and would not yield even out of fear for her life, he threatened to disgrace her even in death by placing the naked body of a murdered slave next to her corpse, evidence that she had been killed in the act of committing adultery of the basest sort. When by this threat his lust vanquished her resolute chastity, he left the house exulting in his seeming conquest of the woman’s honour. Lucretia, stricken to the heart at the disgrace, sent the same messenger to her father in Rome and husband in Ardea:each was to come with one trustworthy friend; it must be done this way and done quickly:a terrible thing had happened. Spurius Lucretius arrived with Publius Valerius son of Volesus, Collatinus with Lucius Iunius Brutus, in whose company he was traveling en route to Rome when his wife’s messenger chanced to meet him. They found Lucretia seated downcast in her bedchamber. At the arrival of her father and husband tears welled up, and when her husband asked, ‘Are you all right?’ she replied ‘indeed, no. What can be right when a woman’s virtue has been taken from her? The impress of another man is in your bed, Collatinus; yet only my body was defiled; my soul was not guilty. Death will be my witness to this. But pledge with your right hands and swear that the adulterer will not go unpunished. Sexton Tarquin did this, a guest who betrayed his host, an enemy in arms last night took his pleasure, fatal, alas, to me—and, if you act as you should, to him.’ Each pledged his word in turn and tried to comfort the heartsick woman by fixing the guilt not upon the victim but the transgressor:the mind sins, they said, not the body, and there is not guilt when intent is absent. ‘It is up to you,’ she said, ‘to punish the man as he deserves. As for me, Iabsolve myself of wrong, but not from punishment. Let no unchaste woman hereafter continue to live because of the precedent of Lucretia.’ She took a knife she was hiding in her garments and drove it into her breast. Doubling over, she collapsed in death. Husband and father raised a ritual cry of mourning for the dead....

SENECA (4 b.c.–65 a.d.) from Moral Letters to Lucilius

Letter 70:On the Proper Time to Slip the Cable (expanded in Archive) Letter 77:On Taking One’s Own Life (expanded in Archive) Letter 78: On the Healing Power of the Mind (in Archive only)

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, born in Cordoba, Spain, was the son of the prominent rhetorician and writer known as Seneca Rhetor, or Seneca the Elder; and Helvia, a cultured woman of deep philosophical interests. As a young boy, Seneca the Younger was sent to Rome to study rhetoric and classical philosophy. He showed promise in law and politics, but was hampered by poor health and the uncertain political climate in Rome.

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After a recuperative period in Egypt, Seneca returned to Rome and re-entered public life, rapidly gaining fame as an orator. This brought him into disfavor with the emperor Caligula, who wanted no rivals, and Seneca would probably have been murdered if Caligula had not been told that Seneca’s poor health would be the death of him before long. Seneca had been a member of the court of the emperor Claudius before he was accused by the empress Messalina of being the lover of Claudius’s niece; Seneca was condemned to death, but the sentence was changed to banishment to Corsica. Seneca spent eight years in exile on Corsica, where he wrote the Consolations; he was recalled by Agrippina, now married to her uncle Claudius, to become tutor to her son Nero. After Agrippina murdered Claudius and Nero acceded to the throne, Seneca together with the praetorian prefect Burrus exercised considerable political influence. There was a brief period of good government, encouraging fiscal and judicial reforms and a more humane attitude toward slaves. However, in 59, Agrippina was murdered by Nero, with the complicity of Seneca, and other conspiracies were unleashed. Nero began to turn against Seneca; he permitted Seneca to retire from politics in 62, but three years later, accused him of being involved in the Pisonian conspiracy and had him sentenced to death. Seneca committed suicide by exsanguination, opening his veins. According to Tacitus [q.v.], Nero ordered Seneca to commit suicide; other historians maintain, however, that Seneca chose to commit suicide rather than be executed for his alleged part in the conspiracy. Seneca’s writings include the Moral Essays, the Moral Letters to Lucilius (a collection of 124 essays on a wide range of topics, including suicide), several tragedies based on classical Greek drama, dialogues, and seven books of philosophical essays called Natural Questions. He was not so much an original philosopher as a moral teacher and proponent of Stoic thought; his originality rests mainly in the artistic and compelling way he presented his ideas. He urged people to be indifferent to the fleeting things of the world, emphasizing composure, wisdom, goodness, and control of the emotions over false valuations of material goods and external praise, and he viewed the achievement of virtue as the true end of philosophy. Seneca’s influence has been felt in both philosophy and drama, especially in medieval and Renaissance literature. In these selections from the Moral Letters, Seneca argues that it is the quality of life, not the quantity, that is important. He argues against thinking of suicide as an act that inappropriately cuts a life short. Unlike a journey cut short, which is incomplete, life cut short can still be complete if it has been lived well. Freedom and self-determination are of primary importance; suicide is the way for one to retain control and freedom over one’s life, and, in accordance with Stoic thinking, it is the act par excellence of the wise man. While history gives examples of noble figures who have killed themselves, such as Cato, Seneca also gives examples of ordinary people who have done so as well, arguing that only will and courage are needed to end one’s life, not even a divine call. “The wise man will live as long as he ought,” Seneca famously says in Letter 70, “not as long as he can.” Among the Stoics, Seneca’s celebration of voluntary death is most pronounced and most central to his thought.

Source Seneca, Ad Lucilium Epistulae Morales, Letters 70, 77, 78, tr. Richard M. Gummere, New York: G. P.Putnam’s Sons, 1920, Vol. 2, pp. 57–73, 169–199.

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from MORAL LETTERS TO LUCILIUS Letter 70:On the Proper Time to Slip the Cable After a long space of time Ihave seen your beloved Pompeii. Iwas thus brought again face to face with the days of my youth. And it seemed to me that Icould still do, nay, had only done a short time ago, all the things which Idid there when a young man. We have sailed past life, Lucilius, as if we were on a voyage, and just as when at sea, to quote from our poet Virgil,

Lands and towns are left astern, even so, on this journey where time flies with the greatest speed, we put below the horizon first our boyhood and then our youth, and then the space which lies between young manhood and middle age and borders on both, and next, the best years of old age itself. Last of all, we begin to sight the general bourne of the race of man. Fools that we are, we believe this bourne to be a dangerous reef; but it is the harbour, where we must some day put in, which we may never refuse to enter; and if a man has reached this harbour in his early years, he has no more right to complain than a sailor who has made a quick voyage. For some sailors, as you know, are tricked and held back by sluggish winds, and grow weary and sick of the slow-moving calm; while others are carried quickly home by steady gales. You may consider that the same thing happens to us; life has carried some men with the greatest rapidity to the harbour, the harbour they were bound to reach even if they tarried on the way, while others it has fretted and harassed. To such a life, as you are aware, one should not always cling. For mere living is not a good, but living well. Accordingly, the wise man will live as long as he ought, not as long as he can. He will mark in what place, with whom, and how he is to conduct his existence, and what he is about to do. He always reflects concerning the quality, and not the quantity, of his life. As soon as there are many events in his life that give him trouble and disturb his peace of mind, he sets himself free. And this privilege is his, not only when the crisis is upon him, but as soon as Fortune seems to be playing him false; then he looks about carefully and sees whether he ought, or ought not, to end his life on that account, he holds that it makes no difference to him whether his taking-off be natural or self-inflicted, whether it comes later or earlier. He does not regard it with fear, as if it were a great loss; for no man can lose very much when but a driblet remains. It is not a question of dying earlier or later, but of dying well or ill. And dying well means escape from the danger of living ill. That is why Iregard the words of the well-known Rhodian as most unmanly. This person was thrown into a cage by his tyrant, and fed there like some wild animal. And when a certain man advised him to end his life by fasting, he replied:“A man may hope for anything while he has life.” This may be true; but life is not to be purchased at any price. No matter how great or how well-assured certain rewards may be, Ishall not strive to attain them at the price of a shameful confession of weakness. Shall Ireflect that Fortune has all power over one who lives, rather than reflect that she has no power over one who knows how to die? There are times, nevertheless, when a man, even though certain death impends and he knows that torture is in store for him, will refrain from lending a hand to his own punishment; to himself, however, he would lend a hand. It is folly to die through fear of dying. The executioner is upon you; wait for him. Why

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anticipate him? Why assume the management of a cruel task that belongs to another? Do you grudge your executioner his privilege, or do you merely relieve him of his task? Socrates might have ended his life by fasting; he might have died by starvation rather than by poison. But instead of this he spent thirty days in prison awaiting death, not with the idea “everything may happen,” or “so long an interval has room for many a hope” but in order that he might show himself submissive to the laws and make the last moments of Socrates an edification to his friends. What would have been more foolish than, scorning death, at the same time to be afraid of poison? Scribonia, a woman of the stern old type, was an aunt of Drusus Libo. This young man was as stupid as he was well born, with higher ambitions than anyone could have been expected to entertain in that epoch, or a man like himself in any epoch at all. When Libo had been carried away ill from the senate-house in his litter, though certainly with a very scanty train of followers,—for all his kinsfolk undutifully deserted him, when he was no longer a criminal but a corpse,—he began to consider whether he should commit suicide, or await death. Scribonia said to him:“ What pleasure do you find in doing another man’s work?” But he did not follow her advice; he laid violent hands upon himself. And he was right, after all; for when a man is doomed to die in two or three days at his enemy’s pleasure, he is really “doing another man’s work” if he continues to live. No general statement can be made, therefore, with regard to the question whether, when a power beyond our control threatens us with death, we should anticipate death, or await it. For there are many arguments to pull us in either direction. If one death is accompanied by torture, and the other is simple and easy, why not snatch the latter? Just as Ishall select my ship when Iam about to go on a voyage, or my house when Ipropose to take a residence, so Ishall choose my death when Iam about to depart from life. Moreover, just as a long-drawn-out life does not necessarily mean a better one, so a long-drawn-out death necessarily means a worse one. There is no occasion when the soul should be humoured more than at the moment of death. Let the soul depart as it feels itself impelled to go; whether it seeks the sword, or the halter, or some draught that attacks the veins, let it proceed and burst the bonds of its slavery. Every man ought to make his life acceptable to others besides himself, but his death to himself alone. The best form of death is the one we like. Men are foolish who reflect thus:“One person will say that my conduct was not brave enough; another, that Iwas too headstrong; a third, that a particular kind of death would have betokened more spirit.” What you should really reflect is:“ I have under consideration a purpose with which the talk of men has no concern!” Your sole aim should be to escape from Fortune as speedily as possible; otherwise, there will be no lack of persons who will think ill of what you have done. You can find men who have gone so far as to profess wisdom and yet maintain that one should not offer violence to one’s own life, and hold it accursed for a man to be the means of his own destruction; we should wait, say they, for the end decreed by nature. But one who says this does not see that he is shutting off the path to freedom. The best thing which eternal law ever ordained was that it allowed to us one entrance into life, but many exits. Must Iawait the cruelty either of disease or of man, when Ican depart through the midst of torture, and shake off my troubles? This is the one reason why we cannot complain of life:it keeps no one against his will. Humanity is well situated, because no man is unhappy except by his own fault. Live, if you so desire; if not, you may return to the place whence you came. You have had veins cut for the purpose of reducing your weight. If you would pierce your heart, a gaping wound is not necessary; a lancet will open the way to that great freedom, and tranquility can be purchased at the cost of a pin-prick....

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... You need not think that none but great men have had the strength to burst the bonds of human servitude; you need not believe that this cannot be done except by a Cato,—Cato, who with his hand dragged forth the spirit which he had not succeeded in freeing by the sword. Nay, men of the meanest lot in life have by a mighty impulse escaped to safety, and when they were not allowed to die at their own convenience, or to suit themselves in their choice of the instruments of death, they have snatched up whatever was lying ready to hand, and by sheer strength have turned objects which were by nature harmless into weapons of their own. For example, there was lately in a training-school for wild-beast gladiators a German, who was making ready for the morning exhibition; he withdrew in order to relieve himself,—the only thing which he was allowed to do in secret and without the presence of a guard. While so engaged, he seized the stick of wood, tipped with a sponge, which was devoted to the vilest uses, and stuffed it, just as it was, down his throat; thus he blocked up his windpipe, and choked the breath from his body. That was truly to insult death! Yes, indeed; it was not a very elegant or becoming way to die; but what is more foolish than to be over-nice about dying? What a brave fellow! He surely deserved to be allowed to choose his fate! How bravely he would have wielded a sword! With what courage he would have hurled himself into the depths of the sea, or down a precipice! Cut off from resources on every hand, he yet found a way to furnish himself with death, and with a weapon for death. Hence you can understand that nothing but the will need postpone death. Let each man judge the deed of this most zealous fellow as he likes, provided we agree on this point,—that the foulest death is preferable to the cleanest slavery.... ... When a man desires to burst forth and take his departure, nothing stands in his way. It is an open space in which Nature guards us. When our plight is such as to permit it, we may look about us for an easy exit. If you have many opportunities ready to hand, by means of which you may liberate yourself, you may make a selection and think over the best way of gaining freedom; but if a chance is hard to find, instead of the best snatch the next best, even though it be something unheard of, something new. If you do not lack the courage, you will not lack the cleverness, to die. See how even the lowest of slave, when suffering goads him on, is aroused and discovers a way to deceive even the most watchful guards! He is truly great who not only has given himself the order to die, but has also found the means.... What, then? If such a spirit is possessed by abandoned and dangerous men, shall it not be possessed also by those who have trained themselves to meet such contingencies by long meditation, and by reason, the mistress of all things? It is reason which teaches us that fate has various ways of approach, but the same end, and that it makes no difference at what point the inevitable event begins. Reason, too, advises us to die, if we may, according to our taste; if this cannot be, she advises us to die according to our ability, and to seize upon whatever means shall offer itself for doing violence to ourselves. It is criminal to “live by robbery”; but, on the other hand, it is most noble to “die by robbery.” Farewell.

Letter 77:On Taking One’s Own Life Suddenly there came into our view to-day the “Alexandrian” ships,—I mean those which are usually sent ahead to announce the coming of the fleet; they are called “mail-boats.”... While everybody was bustling about and hurrying to the water-front, I felt great pleasure in my laziness, because, although Iwas soon to receive letters from my friends, Iwas in no hurry to know how my affairs were progressing abroad, or what news the letters were bringing; for

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some time now Ihave had no losses, nor gains either. Even if Iwere not an old man, Icould not have helped feeling pleasure at this; but as it is, my pleasure was far greater. For, however small my possessions might be, Ishould still have left over more traveling-money than journey to travel, especially since this journey upon which we have set out is one which need not be followed to the end. An expedition will be incomplete if one stops half-way, or anywhere on this side of one’s destination; but life is not incomplete if it is honourable. At whatever point you leave off living, provided you leave off nobly, your life is a whole. Often, however, one must leave off bravely, and our reasons therefore need not be momentous; for neither are the reasons momentous which hold us here. Tullius Marcellinus, a man whom you knew very well, who in youth was a quiet soul and became old prematurely, fell ill of a disease which was by no means hopeless; but it was protracted and troublesome, and it demanded much attention; hence he began to think about dying. He called many of his friends together. Each one of them gave Marcellinus advice,—the timid friend urging him to do what he had made up his mind to do; the flattering and wheedling friend giving counsel which he supposed would be more pleasing to Marcellinus when he came to think the matter over; but our Stoic friend, a rare man, and, to praise him in language which he deserves, a man of courage and vigour, admonished him best of all, as it seems to me. For he began as follows:“ Do not torment yourself, my dear Marcellinus, as if the question which you are weighing were a matter of importance. It is not an important matter to live; all your slaves live, and so do all animals; but it is important to die honourably, sensibly, bravely. Reflect how long you have been doing the same thing:food, sleep, lust,— this is one’s daily round. The desire to die may be felt, not only by the sensible man of the brave or unhappy man, but even by the man who is merely surfeited.” Marcellinus did not need someone to urge him, but rather someone to help him; his slaves refused to do his bidding. The Stoic therefore removed their fears, showing them that there was no risk involved for the household except when it was uncertain whether the master’s death was self-sought or not; besides, it was as bad a practice to prevent one’s master from killing himself as it was to kill him. Then he suggested to Marcellinus himself that it would be a kindly act to distribute gifts to those who had attended him throughout his whole life, when that life was finished, just as, when a banquet is finished, the remaining portion is divided among the attendants who stand about the table. Marcellinus was of a compliant and generous disposition, even when it was a question of his own property; so he distributed little sums among his sorrowing slaves, and comforted them besides. No need had he of sword or of bloodshed; for three days he fasted and had a tent put up in his very bedroom. Then a tub was brought in; he lay in it for a long time, and, as the hot water was continually poured over him, he gradually passed away, not without a feeling of pleasure, as he himself remarked,—such a feeling as a slow dissolution is wont to give. Those of us who have ever fainted know from experience what this feeling is. This little anecdote into which Ihave digressed will not be displeasing to you. For you will see that your friend departed neither with difficulty nor with suffering. Though he committed suicide, yet he withdrew most gently, gliding out of life. The anecdote may also be of some use; for often a crisis demands just such examples. There are times when we ought to die and are unwilling; sometimes we die and are unwilling. No one is so ignorant as not to know that we must some time die; nevertheless, when one draws near death, one turns to flight, trembles, and laments. Would you not think him an utter fool who wept because he was not alive a thousand years ago? And is he not just as much of a fool who weeps because he will not be alive a thousand years from now? It is all the same; you will not be, and you were not. Neither of these periods of

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time belongs to you. You have been cast upon this point of time; if you would make it longer, how much longer shall you make it? Why weep? Why pray? You are taking pains to no purpose.... ... You think, Isuppose, that it is now in order for me to cite some examples of great men. No, Ishall cite rather the case of a boy. The story of the Spartan lad has been preserved:taken captive while still a stripling, he kept crying in his Doric dialect, “I will not be a slave!” and he made good his word; for the very first time he was ordered to perform a menial and degrading service,— and the command was to fetch a chamber pot,—he dashed out his brains against the wall. So near at hand is freedom, and is anyone still a slave? Would you not rather have your own son die thus than reach old age by weakly yielding? Why therefore are you distressed, when even a boy can die so bravely? Suppose that you refuse to follow him; you will be led. Take into your own control that which is now under the control of another. Will you not borrow that boy’s courage, and say:“I am no slave!”? Unhappy fellow, you are a slave to men, you are a slave to your business, you are a slave to life. For life, if courage to die be lacking, is slavery. Have you anything worth waiting for? Your very pleasures, which cause you to tarry and hold you back, have already been exhausted by you.... You are afraid of death; but how can you scorn it in the midst of a mushroom supper? You wish to live; well, do you know how to live? You are afraid to die. But come now:is this life of yours anything but death? Gaius Caesar was passing along the Via Latina, when a man stepped out from the ranks of the prisoners, his grey beard hanging down even to his breast, and begged to be put to death. “What!” said Caesar, “are you alive now?” That is the answer which should be given to men to whom death would come as a relief. “You are afraid to die; what! are you alive now?” “But,” says one, “I wish to live, for Iam engaged in many honourable pursuits. Iam loth to leave life’s duties, which Iam fulfilling with loyalty and zeal.” Surely you are aware that dying is also one of life’s duties? You are deserting no duty; for there is no definite number established which you are bound to complete. There is no life that is not short. Compared with the world of nature, even Nestor’s life was a short one, or Sattia’s, the woman who bade carve on her tombstone that she had lived ninety and nine years. Some persons, you see, boast of their long lives; but who could have endured the old lady if she had had the luck to complete her hundredth year? It is with life as it is with a play,—it matters not how long the action is spun out, but how good the acting is. It makes no difference at what point you stop. Stop whenever you choose; only see to it that the closing period is well turned. Farewell.

VALERIUS MAXIMUS (fl. c. 14–c. 37) from Memorable Doings and Sayings (expanded in Archive)

Born to a poor and undistinguished family, the facts of Valerius Maximus’s life remain largely unknown. Attached to the retinue of Sextus Pompeius (consul and later proconsul of Asia during the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius and part of a literary circle to which Ovid belonged), Valerius accompanied Sextus to the East in the mid 20’s. Valerius compiled a collection of historical anecdotes,

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Memorable Doings and Sayings, taken largely from Greek and other Latin writers, apparently to be used for teaching students of rhetoric the art of using historical references to embellish speeches. His sources include Cicero [q. v.] and Livy [q. v.]. These anecdotes, grouped in nine books under virtues and vices, described both Roman and foreign practices. The brief account of end-of-life customs Valerius ascribes to the Massilians (inhabitants of what is now Marseilles, France) involves a practice in which people having rational reasons for ending their lives could apply to the Senate for permission to do so, and with it, have access to the state-maintained supply of the poison hemlock. What is notable about Valerius’s account is his report that two sorts of reasons were recognized as compelling:if one faced severe suffering or other hardship, or if one’s life were going really well and one did not choose to face a later decline. While Valerius is not recognized as a reliable historian and his writings contain many inconsistencies, errors, and contradictions, his work is the only authority for accounts of the Massilians. Similarly, Valerius’s relating of the voluntary death of a woman on the isle of Ceos, an Aegean island Valerius had apparently visited en route to the East with Sextus Pompeius (the customs of Ceos were later the focus of an essay by Montaigne [q.v.]), is also compelling:in her 90s, still in good health and of high rank and good fortune, she nevertheless seeks permission to end her life while still, so to speak, ahead of the game.

Source Valerius Maximus, Memorable Doings and Sayings, Book II, 6, ed. and tr. D. R.Shackleton Bailey, Cambridge and London: Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 2000, alternate English, pp. 167–177. Footnotes deleted. Quotation in introduction from p.4.

from MEMORABLE DOINGS AND

SAYINGS

The same community [the Massilians] is a most strict guardian of morals, not allowing mimes access to the stage, as their themes for the most part involve the enactment of illicit intercourse, lest the habit of watching such things take licence to imitate them. It closes its gates to all who by some pretense of religion seek sustenance for sloth, holding that false and fraudulent superstition should be ousted. Also, from the foundation of the city there is a sword therein to kill the guilty. It is eroded by rust and scarcely adequate to its function, but a sign that even in the smallest details the monuments of ancient custom are to be preserved. Also two coffins lie before their gates. In one the bodies of freemen, in the other of slaves are carried in a cart to the place of burial without wailing or breast-beating. Mourning ends on the day of the funeral with a domestic sacrifice and a banquet for relatives and friends. For what is the use of indulging human grief or arousing odium against divine power because it did not choose to share its immortality with us? A poison compounded of hemlock is under public guard in that community, which is given to one who has shown reasons to the Six Hundred, as their senate is called, why death is desirable for him. The enquiry is conducted with firmness tempered by benevolence, not suffering the subject to leave life rashly but providing swift means of death to one who rationally desires a way out. Thus

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persons encountering an excess of bad fortune or good (for either might afford reason for ending life, the one lest it continue, the other lest it fail) find a finish to it in an approved departure. I believe this usage of the Massilians did not originate in Gaul but was borrowed from Greece because Isaw it also observed in the island of Cea when Ientered the town of Iulis on my way to Asia with Sex. Pompeius. For it so happened on that occasion that a lady of the highest rank there but in extreme old age, after explaining to her fellow citizens why she ought to depart from life, determined to put an end to herself by poison and set much store on having her death gain celebrity by the presence of Pompeius. Nor could that gentleman reject her plea, excellently endowed as he was with the virtue of good nature as with all other noble qualities. So he visited her and in fluent speech, which flowed from his lips as from some copious fountain of eloquence, tried at length but in vain to turn her back from her design. Finally he let her carry out her intention. Having passed her ninetieth year in the soundest health of mind and body, she lay on her bed, which was spread, as far as might be perceived, more elegantly than every day, and resting on her elbow she spoke:“Sex. Pompeius, may the gods whom Iam leaving rather than those to whom Iam going repay you because you have not disdained to urge me to live nor yet to be witness of my death. As for me, Ihave always seen Fortune’s smiling face. Rather than be forced through greed of living to see her frown, Iam exchanging what remains of my breath for a happy end, leaving two daughters and a flock of sevengrandchildren to survive me.” Then, having urged her family to live in harmony, she distributed her estate among them, and having consigned her own observance and the domestic rites to her elder daughter, she took the cup in which the poison had been mixed in a firm grasp. After pouring libations to Mercury and invoking his divine power, that he conduct her on a calm journey to the happier part of the underworld, she eagerly drained the fatal potion. She indicated in words the parts of her body which numbness seized one by one, and when she told us that it was about to reach her vitals and heart, she summoned her daughters’ hands to the last office, to close her eyes. As for us Romans, she dismissed us, stunned by so extraordinary a spectacle but bathed in tears.

PLINY THE ELDER (23–79) from Natural History:

Of God The Nature of the Earth What Diseases are Attended with the Greatest Pain

Gaius Plinius Secundus, known as Pliny the Elder to differentiate him from his nephew Pliny the Younger (62–113) [q.v.], was born in Como, Italy, and moved to Rome in his youth. He served as a military commander in Germany and was Procurator in Hispania Tarraconensis, but largely avoided politics. A scholar of considerable note, he wrote numerous works in a variety of fields, including

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rhetoric, history, biology, natural science, and military science. Only the Natural History remains extant. The 37 books of this work form an encyclopedia of human biology and natural science, including extensive accounts of herbal medicines. In the year 79, Vesuvius erupted. Pliny, who was at the time commander of the fleet at Misenum on the Bay of Naples, was eager to observe the volcano at close range and attempt a rescue of people in the towns beneath the volcano; he died of exposure to poison gas while trying to do so, having collapsed and been left by his companions. The first portion of this text presents Pliny’s well-known remark that some things are not possible for God, not even suicide, “the supreme boon that [God] has bestowed on man among all the penalties of life....” This remark is often quoted out of context, an acerbic analysis of claims made about divinities, but has nevertheless intrigued many later authors, including David Hume [q.v.]. The second portion of this text provides Pliny’s account of a lethal herbal substance, probably opium or hemlock, which he argues is preferable to other means of suicide—self-starvation, jumping from a height, self-hanging, self-asphyxiation, self-drowning, and self-stabbing. What is significant here is Pliny’s apparent distinction between violent and nonviolent means of suicide and his embrace of the latter for those who are “weary of life.” This selection from Natural History also continues with his observations about the degree of pain associated with specific illnesses, in which cases sufferers sometimes seek suicide.

Sources Pliny, The Natural History of Pliny, Book II, ch. 5, “Of God”; Book II, ch. 63, “Nature of the Earth”; Book 25, ch. 7, “What Diseases are Attended with the Greatest Pain.” John Bostock and H. T.Riley, eds. and trs., London:Taylor and Francis, 1855, available online at www.perseus.tufts.edu from the Perseus Digital Library at Tufts University.

from NATURAL HISTORY Of God I consider it, therefore, an indication of human weakness to inquire into the figure and form of God. For whatever God be, if there be any other God, and wherever he exists, he is all sense, all sight, all hearing, all life, all mind, and all within himself. To believe that there are a number of Gods, derived from the virtues and vices of man, as Chastity, Concord, Understanding, Hope, Honour, Clemency, and Fidelity; or, according to the opinion of Democritus, that there are only two, Punishment and Reward, indicates still greater folly. Human nature, weak and frail as it is, mindful of its own infirmity, has made these divisions, so that every one might have recourse to that which he supposed himself to stand more particularly in need of. Hence we find different names employed by different nations; the inferior deities are arranged in classes, and diseases and plagues are deified, in consequence of our anxious wish to propitiate them. It was from this cause that a temple was dedicated to Fever, at the public expense, on the Palatine Hill, and to Orbona, near the Temple of the Lares, and that an altar was elected to Good Fortune on the Esquiline. Hence we may understand how it comes to pass that there is a greater population of the Celestials than of human beings, since each individual makes a

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separate God for himself, adopting his own Juno and his own Genius. And there are nations who make Gods of certain animals, and even certain obscene things, which are not to be spoken of, swearing by stinking meats and such like. To suppose that marriages are contracted between the Gods, and that, during so long a period, there should have been no issue from them, that some of them should be old and always grey-headed and others young and like children, some of a dark complexion, winged, lame, produced from eggs, living and dying on alternate days, is sufficiently puerile and foolish. But it is the height of impudence to imagine, that adultery takes place between them, that they have contests and quarrels, and that there are Gods of theft and of various crimes. To assist man is to be a God; this is the path to eternal glory. This is the path which the Roman nobles formerly pursued, and this is the path which is now pursued by the greatest ruler of our age, Vespasian Augustus, he who has come to the relief of an exhausted empire, as well as by his sons. This was the ancient mode of remunerating those who deserved it, to regard them as Gods. For the names of all the Gods, as well as of the stars that Ihave mentioned above, have been derived from their services to mankind. And with respect to Jupiter and Mercury, and the rest of the celestial nomenclature, who does not admit that they have reference to certain natural phenomena? But it is ridiculous to suppose, that the great head of all things, whatever it be, pays any regard to human affairs. Can we believe, or rather can there be any doubt, that it is not polluted by such a disagreeable and complicated office?

Nature of the Earth Next comes the earth, on which alone of all parts of nature we have bestowed the name that implies maternal veneration. It is appropriated to man as the heavens are to God. She receives us at our birth, nourishes us when born, and ever afterwards supports us; lastly, embracing us in her bosom when we are rejected by the rest of nature, she then covers us with especial tenderness; rendered sacred to us, inasmuch as she renders us sacred, bearing our monuments and titles, continuing our names, and extending our memory, in opposition to the shortness of life. In our anger we imprecate her on those who are now no more, as if we were ignorant that she is the only being who can never be angry with man. The water passes into showers, is concreted into hail, swells into rivers, is precipitated in torrents; the air is condensed into clouds, rages in squalls; but the earth, kind, mild, and indulgent as she is, and always ministering to the wants of mortals, how many things do we compel her to produce spontaneously! What odours and flowers, nutritive juices, forms and colours! With what good faith does she render back all that has been entrusted to her! It is the vital spirit which must bear the blame of producing noxious animals; for the earth is constrained to receive the seeds of them, and to support them when they are produced. The fault lies in the evil nature which generates them. The earth will no longer harbour a serpent after it has attacked any one, and thus she even demands punishment in the name of those who are indifferent about it themselves. She pours forth a profusion of medicinal plants, and is always producing something for the use of man. We may even suppose, that it is out of compassion to us that she has ordained certain substances to be poisonous, in order that when we are weary of life, hunger, a mode of death the most foreign to the kind disposition of the earth, might not consume us by a slow decay, that precipices might not lacerate our mangled bodies, that the unseemly punishment of the halter may not torture us, by stopping the breath of one who seeks his own destruction, or that we may not seek our

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death in the ocean, and become food for our graves, or that our bodies may not be gashed by steel. On this account it is that nature has produced a substance which is very easily taken, and by which life is extinguished, the body remaining undefiled and retaining all its blood, and only causing a degree of thirst. And when it is destroyed by this means, neither bird nor beast will touch the body, but he who has perished by his own hands is reserved for the earth.

What Diseases are Attended with the Greatest Pain It would seem almost an act of folly to attempt to determine which of these diseases is attended with the most excruciating pain, seeing that everyone is of the opinion that the malady with which for the moment he himself is afflicted, is the most excruciating and insupportable. The general experience, however, of the present age has come to the conclusion, that the most agonizing torments are those attendant upon strangury, resulting from calculi in the bladder; next to them, those arising from maladies of the stomach; and in the third place, those caused by pains and affections of the head; for it is more generally in these cases, we find, and not in others, that patients are tempted to commit suicide. For my own part, Iam surprised that the Greek authors have gone so far as to give a description of noxious plants even; in using which term, Iwish it to be understood that Ido not mean the poisonous plants merely; for such is our tenure of life that death is often a port of refuge to even the best of men. We meet too, with one case of a somewhat similar nature, where M.Varro speaks of Servius Clodius, a member of the Equestrian order, being so dreadfully tormented with gout, that he had his legs rubbed all over with poisons, the result of which was, that from that time forward all sensation, equally with all pain, was deadened in those parts of his body. But what excuse, Isay, can there be for making the world acquainted with plants, the only result of the use of which is to derange the intellect, to produce abortion, and to cause numerous other effects equally pernicious? So far as Iam concerned, Ishall describe neither abortives nor philtres, bearing in mind, as Ido, that Lucullus, that most celebrated general, died of the effects of a philtre. Nor shall Ispeak of other ill-omened devices of magic, unless it be to give warning against them, or to expose them, for Imost emphatically condemn all faith and belief in them. It will suffice for me, and Ishall have abundantly done my duty, if Ipoint out those plants which were made for the benefit of mankind, and the properties of which have been discovered in the lapse of time.

IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH (c. 35/50–c. 107) Epistle:To the Romans

Saint Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Ignatius Theophoros), one of the Apostolic Fathers believed to have been in contact with the Apostles or received instruction from their disciples, served as

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bishop of Antioch from the late 60s to the early 100s. Early traditions hold that he was converted to Christianity by the Apostle John and consecrated as bishop by Peter and Paul. The exact date of Ignatius’ birth is unknown, but it was probably about 35 a.d., perhaps as late as 50, in Syria; he became bishop of Antioch around the year 69. Little is known about Ignatius’ life except what can be distilled from the seven letters he wrote on his journey in captivity, between his arrest in Antioch and—though this is not certain—his arrival in Rome. When Ignatius reached Rome, according to tradition, he was martyred for the faith:he refused to allow the faithful to obtain his release and was killed by two ravenous lions in the Colosseum, who left in the bloody sand only a few of the larger bones. The dates given for his death range from 98 to 117, with 107 the most likely. Ignatius is revered not only in the Roman Catholic Church but also in the independent West Syrian Church centered in Damascus, and almost every patriarch in the latter since 1293 bears the surname Ignatius in his honor. Ignatius’ letters—most of them given to fellow bishops for their churches—warn against heresy and urge Christian unity. In this letter to the Romans, one of the seven believed to be authentic rather than forged (as some clearly were) and his last letter from Smyrna, Ignatius argues against being saved from martyrdom, which he welcomes because, he believes, it will bring him into union with Jesus Christ. He foresees that his body will become as “God’s wheat”—ground by the teeth of wild beasts, a sacrifice to God. Ignatius stresses the voluntary nature of his death and his complete willingness to die. Perhaps as much as any call to martyrdom in early Christianity, Ignatius’ evident eagerness for death among the lions can be seen by later readers as challenging the distinction between martyrdom and suicide. Ignatius does not say that he desires to die simpliciter, a wish that might be interpreted as suicidal but only that he would rather die and come to Christ more than anything else. He clearly does not seek death out of despair, something also often associated with suicide. But he does say that if the beasts do not attack him, he will “compel them” to do so—that is, incite or force (ἐγὼ προσβιάσομαι) the beasts to kill him. Indeed, he asks pardon for this. Ignatius’ expression thus raises the question of whether in this way he would be deliberately bringing about his own death, and what causal, as well as volitional, role he might play.

Source Ignatius of Antioch, “The Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans,” short version, from Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Philip Schaff, Vol. I:The Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, Edinburgh, 1867, also available online at www.ccel.org from the Christian Classic Ethereal Library, Calvin College.

from EPISTLE:TO THE ROMANS Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church which has obtained mercy, through the majesty of the Most High Father, and Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son; the Church which is beloved and enlightened by the will of Him that willeth all things which are according to the love of Jesus Christ our God, which also presides in the place of the report of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of the highest happiness, worthy of praise, worthy of obtaining her every desire, worthy of being deemed holy, and which presides over love, is named

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from Christ, and from the Father, which Ialso salute in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father:to those who are united, both according to the flesh and spirit, to every one of His commandments; who are filled inseparably with the grace of God, and are purified from every strange taint, [I wish] abundance of happiness unblameably, in Jesus Christ our God. Through prayer to God Ihave obtained the privilege of seeing your most worthy faces, and have even been granted more than Irequested; for Ihope as a prisoner in Christ Jesus to salute you, if indeed it be the will of God that Ibe thought worthy of attaining unto the end. For the beginning has been well ordered, if Imay obtain grace to cling to my lot without hindrance unto the end. For Iam afraid of your love, lest it should do me an injury. For it is easy for you to accomplish what you please; but it is difficult for me to attain to God, if ye spare me. For it is not my desire to act towards you as a man-pleaser, but as pleasing God, even as also ye please Him. For neither shall Iever have such [another] opportunity of attaining to God; nor will ye, if ye shall now be silent, ever be entitled to the honour of a better work. For if ye are silent concerning me, Ishall become God’s; but if you show your love to my flesh, Ishall again have to run my race. Pray, then, do not seek to confer any greater favour upon me than that Ibe sacrificed to God while the altar is still prepared; that, being gathered together in love, ye may sing praise to the Father, through Christ Jesus, that God has deemed me, the bishop of Syria, worthy to be sent for from the east unto the west. It is good to set from the world unto God, that Imay rise again to Him. Ye have never envied any one; ye have taught others. Now Idesire that those things may be confirmed [by your conduct], which in your instructions ye enjoin [on others]. Only request in my behalf both inward and outward strength, that Imay not only speak, but [truly] will; and that Imay not merely be called a Christian, but really be found to be one. For if Ibe truly found [a Christian], I may also be called one, and be then deemed faithful, when I shall no longer appear to the world. Nothing visible is eternal. “For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” For our God, Jesus Christ, now that He is with the Father, is all the more revealed [in His glory]. Christianity is not a thing of silence only, but also of [manifest] greatness. I write to the Churches, and impress on them all, that Ishall willingly die for God, unless ye hinder me. Ibeseech of you not to show an unseasonable good-will towards me. Suffer me to become food for the wild beasts, through whose instrumentality it will be granted me to attain to God. Iam the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that Imay be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body; so that when Ihave fallen asleep [in death], Imay be no trouble to any one. Then shall Itruly be a disciple of Christ, when the world shall not see so much as my body. Entreat Christ for me, that by these instruments Imay be found a sacrifice [to God]. Ido not, as Peter and Paul, issue commandments unto you. They were apostles; Iam but a condemned man:they were free, while Iam, even until now, a servant. But when Isuffer, Ishall be the freed-man of Jesus, and shall rise again emancipated in Him. And now, being a prisoner, Ilearn not to desire anything worldly or vain. From Syria even unto Rome Ifight with beasts, both by land and sea, both by night and day, being bound to ten leopards, Imean a band of soldiers, who, even when they receive benefits, show themselves all the worse. But Iam the more instructed by their injuries [to act as a disciple of Christ]; “yet am Inot thereby justified.” May Ienjoy the wild beasts that are prepared for me; and Ipray they may be found eager to rush upon me, which also Iwill entice to devour

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me speedily, and not deal with me as with some, whom, out of fear, they have not touched. But if they be unwilling to assail me, Iwill compel them to do so. Pardon me [in this]:Iknow what is for my benefit. Now Ibegin to be a disciple. And let no one, of things visible or invisible, envy me that Ishould attain to Jesus Christ. Let fire and the cross; let the crowds of wild beasts; let tearings, breakings, and dislocations of bones; let cutting off of members; let shatterings of the whole body; and letall the dreadful torments of the devil come upon me:only let me attain to Jesus Christ. All the pleasures of the world, and all the kingdoms of this earth, shall profit me nothing. It is better for me to die in behalf of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth. “For what shall a man be profited, if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?” Him Iseek, who died for us:Him Idesire, who rose again for our sake. This is the gain which is laid up for me. Pardon me, brethren:do not hinder me from living, do not wish to keep me in a state of death; and while Idesire to belong to God, do not ye give me over to the world. Suffer me to obtain pure light:when Ihave gone thither, Ishall indeed be a man of God. Permit me to be an imitator of the passion of my God. If any one has Him within himself, let him consider what Idesire, and let him have sympathy with me, as knowing how Iam straitened. The prince of this world would fain carry me away, and corrupt my disposition towards God. Let none of you, therefore, who are [in Rome] help him; rather be ye on my side, that is, on the side of God. Do not speak of Jesus Christ, and yet set your desires on the world. Let not envy find a dwelling-place among you; nor even should I, when present with you, exhort you to it, be ye persuaded to listen to me, but rather give credit to those things which Inow write to you. For though Iam alive while Iwrite to you, yet Iam eager to die. My love has been crucified, and there is no fire in me desiring to be fed; but there is within me a water that liveth and speaketh, saying to me inwardly, Come to the Father. Ihave no delight in corruptible food, nor in the pleasures of this life. Idesire the bread of God, the heavenly bread, the bread of life, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became afterwards of the seed of David and Abraham; and Idesire the drink of God, namely His blood, which is incorruptible love and eternal life. I no longer wish to live after the manner of men, and my desire shall be fulfilled if ye consent. Be ye willing, then, that ye also may have your desires fulfilled. Ientreat you in this brief letter; do ye give credit to me. Jesus Christ will reveal these things to you, [so that ye shall know] that Ispeak truly. He is the mouth altogether free from falsehood, by which the Father has truly spoken. Pray ye for me, that Imay attain [the object of my desire]. Ihave not written to you according to the flesh, but according to the will of God. If Ishall suffer, ye have wished [well] to me; but if Iam rejected, ye have hated me. Remember in your prayers the Church in Syria, which now has God for its shepherd, instead of me. Jesus Christ alone will oversee it, and your love [will also regard it]. But as for me, Iam ashamed to be counted one of them; for indeed Iam not worthy, as being the very last of them, and one born out of due time. But Ihave obtained mercy to be somebody, if Ishall attain to God. My spirit salutes you, and the love of the Churches that have received me in the name of Jesus Christ, and not as a mere passer-by. For even those Churches which were not near to me in the way, Imean according to the flesh, have gone before me, city by city, [to meet me.] Now Iwrite these things to you from Smyrna by the Ephesians, who are deservedly most happy. There is also with me, along with many others, Crocus, one dearly beloved by me. As to those who have gone before me from Syria to Rome for the glory of God, Ibelieve that you are acquainted with them; to whom, [then,] do ye make known that Iam at hand. For they are all

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worthy, both of God and of you; and it is becoming that you should refresh them in all things. Ihave written these things unto you, on the day before the ninth of the Kalends of September (that is, on the twenty-third day of August). Fare ye well to the end, in the patience of Jesus Christ. Amen.

JOSEPHUS (37–c. 100) from The Jewish War

The Defeat at Jotapata (in Archive only) The Fall of Masada (expanded in Archive)

Originally born Joseph ben Matthias in Jerusalem, Titus Flavius Josephus was a Jewish military commander and then historian. He was of priestly and royal descent, educated in both Hebrew and Greek literature. At age 16, he went into the desert, staying with the hermit Bannus; after this, he joined the Pharisees, and in 66 a.d., he reluctantly (or so he claims) took part in the Jewish revolt against Rome. After the Roman siege of Jotapata, Josephus, who as governor of Galilee led its defense, was captured and imprisoned in a Roman camp. He was later freed by the emperor Vespasian and became a Roman citizen. Adopting the Vespasian family name of Flavius, Josephus endeavored to act as a mediator between the Romans and the Jews during the assault on Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70. His attempts at mediation were unsuccessful, as he was distrusted by both the Jews as a traitor and the Romans for being a Jew. Jerusalem was besieged and destroyed by the Roman legions. Josephus returned to Rome where, with imperial patronage, he dedicated himself to writing until his death, sometime between 93 and 100 a.d. Josephus wrote several works including the Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94; a history of the Jewish people from the Creation to 66 a.d., in 20 books), an Autobiography (c. 99), and Against Apion (c. 97; a defense of the Jewish people and their religion), but he is perhaps best known for his historical account of the Jewish revolt against Rome, The Jewish War (75–79). Much of the account of the revolt is taken from Josephus’ firsthand experiences. The influence of his Hebrew and Greek education, and of his Greek assistants, is also evident in its pages. Perhaps in an effort to defend himself against charges of treason, Josephus paints the Jews as their own worst enemies for being unwilling to bow to Roman might. While Josephus’ historical writings suffer from inaccuracy and frequent exaggeration, and while the details of matters affecting himself, as in the accounts of suicide presented here, may be particularly unreliable—probably at least in part a fabrication designed to please his Roman masters—they nevertheless provide a direct look at the relationship between the Jews and the secular Roman world. The first of the two selections from The Jewish War is an account of the siege of the fortress of Jotapata. Josephus, the military leader at the fortress, successfully held off a Roman assault for 47days, but the city fell to Vespasian on July 20, 67. Josephus hid for safety in a cave with 40

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other Jews. When discovered by the Romans three days later, Josephus was on the point of surrendering, but his companions urged him to die rather than do so:“we will lend you a right hand and a sword.” Josephus tried to persuade them of the wrongness of suicide; his discourse is presented here, replete with Greek arguments against suicide. He alludes to the Athenian law that the hand of a suicide was to be cut off and buried separately and to a variation of the Pythagorean argument used by Plato that man is the property of God and should not “fly from the best of masters.” He also anticipates a natural-law argument later used by Thomas Aquinas that everything seeks to keep itself in being. Nevertheless, Josephus’ companions insisted on death. Josephus quickly devised a plan whereby each surrendered his throat to one before him, and Josephus, one of the last two in line, escaped. The second selection is Josephus’ account of the siege of the fortress of Masada. After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 a.d., the fortress—built in a seemingly impregnable position at the top of a massive rock promontory on the western shore of the Dead Sea—became one of the last outposts for the Jewish nationalists known as the Zealots. On May 2, 73, during a major offensive by the Roman army, 960 Zealot revolutionaries under the command of Eleazar chose to commit mass suicide rather than to yield to the Roman attack. Eleazar’s arguments favoring suicide are counterparts to those Josephus had used against it:voluntary death gives liberty to the soul; it preserves honor and protects the pride of the Jewish nation; it spares one’s family and oneself from slavery and torture if captured. Incited by Eleazar, each husband killed his wife and children and was then killed by the next man in line; the last man willingly killed himself. Only two women and five children, hiding in the underground aqueducts, survived to tell the tale.

Sources Josephus, The Jewish War, tr. H. St. J.Thackeray, London:William Heinemann; Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press, 1927, Vol. 2 (I-III), 1927; Vol. 3 (IV-V), 1928, odd-numbered pp., Vol. 2, 665–689, Vol. 3, 591–619. Book III:The Defeat at Jotapata; Book VII:The Fall of Masada.

from THE JEWISH WAR The Fall of Masada The Roman general [Silva] having now completed his wall surrounding the whole exterior of the place [Masada] and taken the strictest precautions that none should escape, applied himself to the siege. . . . Silva, having further provided himself with a great battering-ram, ordered it to be directed without intermission against the wall, and having, though with difficulty, succeeded in effecting a breach, brought it down in ruins.... The Romans... blessed by God’s aid, returned rejoicing to their camp, with the determination of attacking the enemy on the morrow; and throughout that night they kept stricter watch lest any of them should secretly escape. ... However, neither did Eleazar himself contemplate flight, nor did he intend to permit any other to do so. Seeing the wall consumed in the flames, unable to devise any further means of deliverance or gallant endeavour, and setting before his eyes what the Romans, if victorious,

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would inflict on them, their children and their wives, he deliberated on the death of all. And, judging, as matters stood, this course the best, he assembled the most doughty of his comrades and incited them to the deed by such words as these: “Long since, my brave men, we determined, neither to serve the Romans nor any other—save God, for He alone is man’s true and righteous Lord; and now the time has come which bids us verify that resolution by our actions. At this crisis let us not disgrace ourselves; we who in the past refused to submit even to a slavery involving no peril, let us not now, along with slavery, deliberately accept the irreparable penalties awaiting us if we are to fall alive into Roman hands. For as we were the first of all to revolt, so are we the last in arms against them. Moreover, Ibelieve that it is God who has granted us this favour, that we have it in our power to die nobly and in freedom—a privilege denied to others who have met with unexpected defeat. Our fate at break of day is certain capture, but there is still the free choice of a noble death with those we hold most dear. For our enemies, fervently though they pray to take us alive, can no more prevent this than we can now hope to defeat them in battle. Maybe, indeed, we ought from the very first—when, having chosen to assert our liberty, we invariably experienced such hard treatment from one another, and still harder from our foes—we ought, I say, to have read God’s purpose and to have recognized that the Jewish race, once beloved of Him, had been doomed to perdition. For had he continued to be gracious, or but lightly incensed, he would never have overlooked such wholesale destruction or have abandoned His most holy city to be burnt and razed to the ground by our enemies. But did we forsooth hope that we alone of all the Jewish nation would survive and preserve our freedom, as persons guiltless towards God and without a hand in crime—we who had even been the instructors of the rest? Mark, now, how He exposes the vanity of our expectations, by visiting us with such dire distress as exceeds all that we could anticipate. For not even the impregnable nature of this fortress has availed to save us; nay, though ample provisions are ours, piles of arms, and a superabundance of every other requisite, yet we have been deprived, manifestly by God Himself, of all hope of deliverance. For it was not of their own accord that those flames which were driving against the enemy turned back upon the wall constructed by us; no, all this betokens wrath at the many wrongs which we madly dared to inflict upon our countrymen. The penalty for those crimes let us pay not to our bitterest foes, the Romans, but to God through the act of our own hands. It will be more tolerable than the other. Let our wives thus die undishonoured, our children unacquainted with slavery; and, when they are gone, let us render a generous service to each other, preserving our liberty as a noble winding-sheet. But first let us destroy our chattels and the fortress by fire; for the Romans, well Iknow, will be grieved to lose at once our persons and the lucre. Our provisions only let us spare; for they will testify, when we are dead, that it was not want which subdued us, but that in keeping with our initial resolve, we preferred death to slavery.” Thus spoke Eleazar; but his words did not touch the hearts of all hearers alike. Some, indeed, were eager to respond and all but filled with delight at the thought of a death so noble; but others, softer-hearted, were moved with compassion for their wives and families, and doubtless also by the vivid prospect of their own end, and their tears as they looked upon one another revealed their unwillingness of heart. Eleazar, seeing them flinching and their courage breaking down in face of so vast a scheme, feared that their whimpers and tears might unman even those who had listened to his speech with fortitude. Far, therefore, from slackening in his exhortation, he roused

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himself and, fired with mighty fervour, essayed a higher flight of oratory on the immortality of the soul. Indignantly protesting and with eyes intently fixed on those in tears, he exclaimed: “Deeply, indeed, was Ideceived in thinking that Ishould have brave men as associates in our struggles for freedom—men determined to live with honour or to die. But you, it seems, were no better than the common herd in valour or in courage, you who are afraid even of that death that will deliver you from the direst ills, when in such a cause you ought neither to hesitate an instant nor wait for a counselor. For from of old, since the first dawn of intelligence, we have been continually taught by those precepts, ancestral and divine—confirmed by the deeds and noble spirit of our forefathers—that life, not death, is man’s misfortune. For it is death which gives liberty to the soul and permits it to depart to its own pure abode, there to be free from all calamity; but so long as it is imprisoned in a mortal body and tainted with all its miseries, it is, in sober truth, dead, for association with what is mortal ill befits that which is divine. True, the soul possesses great capacity, even while incarcerated in the body; for it makes the latter its organ of perception, invisibly swaying it and directing it onward in its actions beyond the range of mortal nature. But it is not until, freed from the weight that drags it down to earth and clings about it, the soul is restored to its proper sphere, that it enjoys a blessed energy and a power untrammelled on every side, remaining, like God Himself, invisible to human eyes. For even while in the body it is withdrawn from view:unperceived it comes and unseen it again departs, itself of a nature one and incorruptible, but a cause of change to the body. For whatever the soul has touched lives and flourishes, whatever it abandons withers and dies; so abundant is her wealth of immortality.... ... “Yet, even had we from the first been schooled in the opposite doctrine and taught that man's highest blessing is life and that death is a calamity, still the crisis is one that calls upon us to bear it with a stout heart, since it is by God’s will and of necessity that we are to die. For long since, so it seems, God passed this decree against the whole Jewish race in common, that we must quit this life if we would not use it aright. Do not attach the blame to yourselves, nor the credit to the Romans, that this war with them has been the ruin of us all; for it was not their might that brought these things to pass, but the intervention of some more powerful cause has afforded them the semblance of victory.... “Those men who fell in battle may fitly be felicitated, for they died defending, not betraying, liberty; but the multitudes in Roman hands who would not pity? Who would not rush to his death ere he shared their fate? Of them some have perished on the rack or tortured by fire and scourge; others, half-devoured by wild beasts, have been preserved alive to provide them with a second repast, after affording merriment and sport for their foes. But most miserable of all must be reckoned those still alive, who have often prayed for death and are denied the boon. “And where now is that great city, the mother-city of the whole Jewish race, intrenched behind all those lines of ramparts, screened by all those forts and massive towers, that could scarce contain her munitions of war, and held all those myriads of defenders? What has become of her that was believed to have God for her founder? Uprooted from her base she has been swept away, and the sole memorial of her remaining is that of the slain sti1l quartered in her ruins! Hapless old men sit beside the ashes of the shrine and a few women, reserved by the enemy for basest outrage. “Which of us, taking these things to heart, could bear to behold the sun, even could he live secure from peril? Who such a foe to his country, so unmanly, so fond of life, as not to regret that he is still alive to-day? Nay, Iwould that we had all been dead ere ever we saw that holy city razed by an enemy's hands, that sacred sanctuary so profanely uprooted! But seeing

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that we have been beguiled by a not ignoble hope, that we might perchance find means of avenging her of her foes, and now that hope has vanished and left us alone in our distress, let us hasten to die honourably; let us have pity on ourselves, our children and our wives, while it is still in our power to find pity from ourselves. For we were born for death, we and those whom we have begotten; and this even the fortunate cannot escape. But outrage and servitude and the sight of our wives being led to shame with their children—these are no necessary evils imposed by nature on mankind, but befall, through their own cowardice, those who, having the chance of forestalling them by death, refuse to take it. But we, priding ourselves on our courage, revolted from the Romans, and now at the last, when they offered us our lives, we refused the offer. Who then can fail to foresee their wrath if they take us alive? Wretched will be the young whose vigorous frames can sustain many tortures, wretched the more advanced in years whose age is incapable of bearing such calamities. Is a man to see his wife led off to violation, to hear the voice of his child crying ‘Father!’ when his own hands are bound? No, while those hands are free and grasp the sword, let them render an honourable service. Unenslaved by the foe let us die, as free men with our children and wives let us quit this life together! This our laws enjoin, this our wives and children implore of us. The need for this is of God’s sending, the reverse of this is the Romans’ desire, and their fear is lest a single one of us should die before capture. Haste we then to leave them, instead of their hoped-for enjoyment at securing us, amazement at our death and admiration of our fortitude.” He would have pursued his exhortation but was cut short by his hearers, who, overpowered by some uncontrollable impulse, were all in haste to do the deed. Like men possessed they went their way, each eager to outstrip his neighbour and deeming it a signal proof of courage and sound judgement not to be seen among the last:so ardent the passion that had seized them to slaughter their wives, their little ones and themselves. Nor, as might have been expected, did their ardour cool when they approached the task:inflexibly they held to the resolution, which they had formed while listening to the address, and though personal emotion and affection were alive in all, reason which they knew had consulted best for their loved ones, was paramount. For, while they caressed and embraced their wives and took their children in their arms, clinging in tears to those parting kisses, at that same instant, as though served by hands other than their own, they accomplished their purpose, having the thought of the ills they would endure under the enemy’s hands to console them for their constraint in killing them. And in the end not one was found a truant in so daring a deed:all carried through their task with their dearest ones. Wretched victims of necessity, to whom to slay with their own hands their own wives and children seemed the lightest of evils! Unable, indeed, any longer to endure their anguish at what they had done, and feeling that they wronged the slain by surviving them if it were but for a moment, they quickly piled together all the stores and set them on fire; then, having chosen by lot ten of their number to dispatch the rest, they laid themselves down each beside his prostrate wife and children, and, flinging their arms around them, offered their throats in readiness for the executants of the melancholy office. These, having unswervingly slaughtered all, ordained the same rule of the lot for one another, that he on whom it fell should slay first the nine and then himself last of all; such mutual confidence had they all that neither in acting nor in suffering would one differ from another. Finally, then, the nine bared their throats, and the last solitary survivor, after surveying the prostrate multitude, to see whether haply amid the

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shambles there were yet one left who needed his hand, and finding that all were slain, set the palace ablaze, and then collecting his strength drove his sword clean through his body and fell beside his family. They had died in the belief that they had left not a soul of them alive to fall into Roman hands; but an old woman and another, a relative of Eleazar, superior in sagacity and training to most of her sex, with five children, escaped by concealing themselves in the subterranean aqueducts, while the rest were absorbed in the slaughter. The victims numbered nine hundred and sixty, including women and children; and the tragedy occurred on the fifteenth of the month Xanthicus. The Romans, expecting further opposition, were by daybreak under arms and, having with gangways formed bridges of approach from the earthworks, advanced to the assault. Seeing none of the enemy but on all sides an awful solitude, and flames within and silence, they were at a loss to conjecture what had happened. At length, as if for a signal to shoot, they shouted, to call forth haply any of those within. The shout was heard by the women-folk, who, emerging from the caverns, informed the Romans how matters stood, one of the two lucidly reporting both the speech and how the deed was done. But it was with difficulty that they listened to her, incredulous of such amazing fortitude; meanwhile they endeavoured to extinguish the flames and soon cutting a passage through them entered the palace. Here encountering the mass of slain, instead of exulting as over enemies, they admired the nobility of their resolve and the contempt of death displayed by so many in carrying it, unwavering, into execution.

PLUTARCH (c. 46–c. 120) Moralia:The Women of Miletus Parallel Lives:Cato the Younger

Plutarch, Greek biographer and essayist, sometimes called the founder of modern biography, chronicled the lives of many of the great and celebrated Greeks and Romans. Born in Chaeronea in Boeotia, Plutarch was educated in Athens and traveled widely. He was the author of some 227 works, including the Moralia, a collection of didactic essays and dialogues on a wide range of topics, and the Parallel Lives, biographies and character studies of soldiers and statesmen among the Greeks and Romans, most in pairs, from the legendary age of Theseus and Romulus down to his own time. Plutarch’s philosophical thinking can be described as an eclectic Platonism, with elements borrowed from many other philosophical traditions. For at least 20years, Plutarch served as a priest at the temple at Delphi; later in life, he returned to Chaeronea and served as a city official. Included in Plutarch’s Moralia is the collection of stories, Mulierum Virtutes, known as On the Virtues of Women or The Bravery of Women, that Plutarch composed for his friend Clea, who held

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high office among the priestesses at Delphi where he himself was a priest. In it, Plutarch relates an epidemic of suicide (said to have occurred in 277 b.c.) among the young women of Miletus, presumably girls around the age of puberty when they were about to be married. The story is repeated by many other classical authors, including Aulus Gellius, who attributes it to another work of Plutarch’s, now lost, called On the Soul. Although the measure may be a later addition, the story is well known for its account of an effective deterrent to suicide:public shame. In the Lives, Plutarch chronicles the suicide of the Roman statesman Marcus Portius Cato, known as Cato the Younger (95–46 b.c.), during the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. As a leader, Cato developed a reputation for honesty, frugality, and personal integrity, and had gained considerable influence among the Roman people; he was considered a potential political threat by the First Triumvirate (Caesar, Pompey, and Marcus Crassus), who sent him to Sicily for two years to try to remove him from politics. Cato sided with Pompey during the civil war in 49 b.c.; he tried to defend Sicily and in the end maintained a hopeless defense against Caesar in the North African city of Utica, near modern Tunis. As Caesar was about to take the city, Cato committed suicide by falling on his sword—though the act proved initially ineffective and the wound was sewn closed by a physician; it was not until he awoke and ripped open the wound that he died. In this biography of Cato, Plutarch represents him as motivated by two principal reasons, both consonant with Stoic thinking (though Plutarch himself was generally opposed to Stoicism):Cato considers suicide an act of self-control and personal freedom, a way of avoiding the indignity he would suffer at Caesar’s hand; he also sees his suicide as a way of showing the Roman people that they never need to succumb to slavery, even in defeat. This does not mean, however, that Cato urged suicide upon his people too; rather, he remained behind after they sailed as a model of principled resistance. Plutarch’s account also stresses the resoluteness of purpose that he sees as characterizing Cato’s suicide, including Cato’s allowing his family to understand his intentions, his reading of Plato’s Phaedo (twice), his resistance to his son’s paternalism in hiding the sword, and his determination to complete the deed even after its initial failure. Following the suicide, the people of Utica honored Cato, and his reputation for incorruptibility became legendary. Plutarch’s accounts have had considerable later influence. Shakespeare [q.v.] followed the Lives, which had first been translated into English in 1579, closely in his Roman history plays, sometimes borrowing passages from Plutarch with only minor changes; Plutarch’s work had considerable influence on Shakespeare’s conception of the tragic hero that is evident, for example, in Antony and Cleopatra. And while some later commentators have depicted Cato’s suicide as immoral, many have used it as an example par excellence of courage; even Immanuel Kant [q.v.], in his Lectures on Ethics, says that “appearances are in its favor,” though he hastens to say that it is “the only example which has given the world the opportunity of defending suicide.”

Sources Plutarch’s Moralia: ”Bravery of Women,” XI, tr. Frank Cole Babbitt, Loeb Classical Library, London: William Heinemann; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1949, p. 509; Plutarch’s Lives: “Cato the Younger,” LXVIII-LXXIII, tr. Bernadotte Perrin, Loeb Classical Library, London: William Heinemann; New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1919, Vol. 8, odd-numbered pp. 401–409.

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from MORALIA:THE WOMEN OF

MILETUS

Once upon a time a dire and strange trouble took possession of the young women in Miletus for some unknown cause. The most popular conjecture was that the air had acquired a distracting and infectious constitution, and that this operated to produce in them an alteration and derangement of mind. At any rate, a yearning for death and an insane impulse toward hanging suddenly fell upon all of them, and many managed to steal away and hang themselves. Arguments and tears of parents and comforting words of friends availed nothing, but they circumvented every device and cunning effort of their watchers in making away with themselves. The malady seemed to be of divine origin and beyond human help, until, on the advice of a man of sense, an ordinance was proposed that the women who hanged themselves should be carried naked through the market-place to their burial. And when this ordinance was passed it not only checked, but stopped completely, the young women from killing themselves. Plainly a high testimony to natural goodness and to virtue is the desire to guard against ill repute, and the fact that the women who had no deterrent sense of shame when facing the most terrible of all things in the world, death and pain, yet could not abide nor bear the thought of disgrace which would come after death.

from PARALLEL LIVES:CATO

THE YOUNGER

Thus the supper came to an end, and after walking about with his friends as he usually did after supper, he gave the officers of the watch the proper orders, and then retired to his chamber, but not until he had embraced his son and each of his friends with more than his wonted kindness, and thus awakened anew their suspicions of what was to come. After entering his chamber and lying down, he took up Plato’s dialogue “On the Soul” [the Phaedo], and when he had gone through the greater part of the treatise, he looked up above his head, and not seeing his sword hanging there (for his son had taken it away while Cato was still at supper), called a servant and asked him who had taken the weapon. The servant made no answer, and Cato returned to his book; and a little while after, as if in no haste of hurry, but merely looking for his sword, he bade the servant fetch it. But as there was some delay, and no one brought the weapon, he finished reading his book, and this time called his servants one by one and in louder tones demanded his sword. One of them he smote on the mouth with his fist, and bruised his own hand, angrily crying now in loud tones that his son and his servants were betraying him into the hands of the enemy without arms. At last his son ran in weeping, together with his friends, and after embracing him, betook himself to lamentations and entreaties. But Cato, rising to his feet, took on a solemn look, and said:“When and where, without my knowledge, have Ibeen adjudged a madman, that no one instructs or tries to convert me in matters wherein Iam thought to have made

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bad decisions, but Iam prevented from using my own judgement, and have my arms taken from me? Why, generous boy, dost thou not also tie thy father’s hands behind his back, that Caesar may find me unable to defend myself when he comes? Surely, to kill myself Ihave no need of a sword, when Ihave only to hold my breath a little while, or dash my head against the wall, and death will come.” As Cato said these words the young man went out sobbing, and all the rest also, except Demetrius and Apollonides. These alone remained, and with these Cato began to talk, now in gentler tones. “I suppose,” said he, “that ye also have decided to detain in life by force a man as old as Iam, and to sit by him in silence and keep watch of him:or are ye come with the plea that it is neither shameful nor dreadful for Cato, when he has no other way of salvation, to await salvation at the hands of his enemy? Why, then, do ye not speak persuasively and convert me to this doctrine, that we may cast away those good old opinions and arguments which have been part of our very lives, be made wiser through Caesar’s efforts, and therefore be more grateful to him? And yet I, certainly, have come to no resolve about myself; but when I have come to a resolve, Imust be master of the course which Idecide to take. And Ishall come to a resolve with your aid, as Imight say, since Ishall reach it with the aid of those doctrines which ye also adopt as philosophers. So go away with a good courage, and bid my son not to try force with his father when he cannot persuade him.” Without making any reply to this, but bursting into tears, Demetrius and Apollonides slowly withdrew. Then the sword was sent in, carried by a little child, and Cato took it, drew it from its sheath, and examined it. And when he saw that its point was keen and its edge still sharp, he said:“ Now Iam my own master.” Then he laid down the sword and resumed his book, and he is said to have read it through twice. Afterwards he fell into so deep a sleep that those outside the chamber heard him. But about midnight he called two of his freedmen, Cleanthes the physician, and Butas, who was his chief agent in public matters. Butas he sent down to the sea, to find out whether all had set sail successfully, and bring him word; while to the physician he gave his hand to bandage, since it was inflamed by the blow that he had given the slave. This made everybody more cheerful, since they thought he had a mind to live. In a little while Butas came with tidings that all had set sail except Crassus, who was detained by some business or other, and he too was on the point of embarking; Butas reported also that a heavy storm and a high wind prevailed at sea. On hearing this, Cato groaned with pity for those in peril on the sea, and sent Butas down again, to find out whether anyone had been driven back by the storm and wanted any necessaries, and to report to him. And now the birds were already beginning to sing, when he fell asleep again for a little while. And when Butas came and told him that the harbours were very quiet, he ordered him to close the door, throwing himself down upon his couch as if he were going to rest there for what still remained of the night. But when Butas had gone out, Cato drew his sword from its sheath and stabbed himself below the breast. His thrust, however, was somewhat feeble, owing to the inflammation in his hand, but in his death struggle fell from the couch and made a loud noise by overturning a geometrical abacus that stood near. His servants heard the noise and cried out, and his son at once ran in, together with his friends. They saw that he was smeared with blood, and that most of his bowels were protruding, but that he still had his eyes open and was alive; and they were terribly shocked. But the physician went to him and tried to replace his bowels, which remained uninjured, and to sew up the wound. Accordingly, when Cato recovered and became

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aware of this, he pushed the physician away, tore his bowels with his hands, rent the wound still more, and so died. Before one would have thought that all in the house could learn of the event, the three hundred were at the door, and a little later the people of Utica had assembled. With one voice they called Cato their saviour and benefactor, the only man who was free, the only one unvanquished. And this they continued to do even when word was brought that Caesar was approaching. But neither fear of the conqueror, nor a desire to flatter him, nor their mutual strife and dissension, could blunt their desire to honour Cato. They decked his body in splendid fashion, gave it an illustrious escort, and buried it near the sea, where a statue of him now stands, sword in hand. Then they turned their thoughts to their own salvation and that of their city. When Caesar learned from people who came to him that Cato was remaining in Utica and not trying to escape, but that he was sending off the rest, while he himself, his companions, and his son, were fearlessly going up and down, he thought it difficult to discern the purpose of the man, but since he made the greatest account of him, he came on with his army in all haste. When, however, he heard of his death, he said thus much only, as we are told:“O Cato, Ibegrudge thee thy death; for thou didst begrudge me the sparing of thy life.” For, in reality, if Cato could have consented to have his life spared by Caesar, he would not be thought to have defiled his own fair fame, but rather to have adorned that of Caesar. However, what would have happened is uncertain; though the milder course is to be conjectured on the part of Caesar. When Cato died, he was forty-eight years old.

THE NEW TESTAMENT (c. 50–c. 125) Matthew: The Death of Jesus and the Suicide of Judas Acts: Paul Prevents a Suicide I Corinthians: The Body as Temple Philippians: Paul in Prison:On the Desire to Die

In addition to the texts of the Hebrew Bible [q.v.], known to Christians as the Old Testament, the Christian Bible also includes the books and letters known as the New Testament. These texts are accounts of the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth (c. 8–4 b.c. to c. 30–36 a.d.) by his immediate disciples and subsequent followers, expressions of their faith in his divine and human nature as Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and the Son of God, as well as their understandings of the history of their tradition and God’s purpose for the world. Preserved in koine, the Greek dialect common to the eastern Mediterranean regions, these 27 texts include the four gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), the historical book of Acts, the letters by and attributed to Paul, letters

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from disciples, and the Apocalypse (Revelations) attributed to John. These texts from the 1st and possibly 2nd century a.d. form the scriptures distinctive to Christianity, a new religion arising from Judaism that would distinguish itself from both Judaism and the Roman state religion, and within a few hundred years, would itself become the dominant religion in the West. The effort to compile a single, coherent collection of the authoritative early writings of this new religion began sometime during the last decades of the 2nd century, and it was not until the second half of the 4th century that the New Testament reached its settled, final shape. The texts presented here—from Matthew, Acts, ICorinthians, and Philippians—are placed in the order in which they occur in the canonical New Testament, though this does not reflect their dates of composition. The earliest, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, was written sometime between 50 and 60 a.d., before he was imprisoned in Rome for the first time. Paul’s first extant letter to the church at Corinth, ICorinthians, was written from Ephesus sometime around Easter, probably in the year 55, during one of his many missionary journeys. The Gospel of Matthew was composed between 80 and 90, and Acts, a history of the early church by the author of the gospel attributed to Luke, has been dated as early as 60 and as late as 125. The text presented here from Matthew describes the only suicide reported in the canonical gospels, that of Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples. Judas had betrayed Jesus to the Roman authorities, a betrayal that led to Jesus’ crucifixion. Although a different version of Judas’s death, not involving suicide, can be found in Acts 1:18–20, the account in Matthew interprets Judas’s self-hanging as a suicide of remorse. Some later commentators have seen Judas’s suicide as an act of ultimate atonement for the sin of betrayal, although by the High Middle Ages, Judas’s suicide was often seen as a greater sin than the betrayal itself. Acts also contains an account of the jailor in Philippi who, responsible for keeping Paul and Silas under close guard, attempts suicide when he believes they have escaped; it is Paul who prevents the jailor’s suicide. Paul’s letters address many questions about church discipline and practice, questions of morality, and fundamental Christian doctrine. The passage from I Corinthians provides part of the theological basis for the Christian prohibition of suicide: the view that the body is the “temple of God,” the place where the soul dwells, the site of the fusion between spirit and flesh that is the human person. Suicide is wrong in part because it destroys the body that is the seat of the soul. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians provides indirect insight into Christian attitudes about suicide. As many later writers (e.g., Angela of Foligno [q.v.]) also do, Paul describes his ambivalence about death:he desires to “depart and be with Christ,” and he sees death and the afterlife it promises as “a gain”; but he also recognizes reasons for remaining in the body, reasons that persuade him that it is better not to end his life. This tension between the desire to die and the obligation to live remains of continuing concern in the Christian view of suicide throughout its later history.

Source The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha, eds. M. Jack Suggs, Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, and James R.Mueller, NewYork:Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. 1299–1301, 1414–1415, 1450, 1488.

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from THE NEW TESTAMENT Matthew 26:36–75; 27:1-5:The Death of Jesus and the Suicide of Judas Jesus then came with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while Igo over there to pray.’ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. Distress and anguish overwhelmed him, and he said to them, ‘My heart is ready to break with grief. Stop here, and stay awake with me.’ Then he went on a little farther, threw himself down, and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Yet not my will but yours.’ He came back to the disciples and found them asleep; and he said to Peter, ‘What! Could none of you stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake, and pray that you may be spared the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ He went away a second time and prayed:‘My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to pass me by without my drinking it, your will be done.’ He came again and found them asleep, for their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away again and prayed a third time, using the same words as before. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Still asleep? Still resting? The hour has come! The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let us go! The traitor is upon us.’ He was still speaking when Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared, and with him a great crowd armed with swords and cudgels, sent by the chief priests and the elders of the nation. The traitor had given them this sign:‘The one Ikiss is your man; seize him.’ Going straight up to Jesus, he said, ‘Hail, Rabbi!’ and kissed him. Jesus replied, ‘Friend, do what you are here to do.’ Then they came forward, seized Jesus, and held him fast. At that moment one of those with Jesus reached for his sword and drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear. But Jesus said to him, ‘Put up your sword. All who take the sword die by the sword. Do you suppose that Icannot appeal for help to my Father, and at once be sent more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say that this must happen?’ Then Jesus spoke to the crowd:‘Do you take me for a bandit, that you have come out with swords and cudgels to arrest me? Day after day Isat teaching in the temple, and you did not lay hands on me. But this has all happened to fulfil what the prophets wrote.’ Then the disciples all deserted him and ran away. Jesus was led away under arrest to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders were assembled. Peter followed him at a distance till he came to the high priest’s courtyard; he went in and sat down among the attendants, to see how it would all end. The chief priests and the whole council tried to find some allegation against Jesus that would warrant a death sentence; but they failed to find one, though many came forward with false evidence. Finally two men alleged that he had said, ‘I can pull down the temple of God, and rebuild it in three days.’ At this the high priest rose and said to him, ‘Have you no answer to the accusations that these witnesses bring against you?’ But Jesus remained silent. The high priest then said, ‘By the living God Icharge you to tell us:are you the Messiah, the Son of God?’ Jesus

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replied, ‘The words are yours. But Itell you this:from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ At these words the high priest tore his robes and exclaimed, ‘This is blasphemy! Do we need further witnesses? You have just heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict!’ ‘He is guilty,’ they answered; ‘he should die.’ Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists; some said, as they beat him, ‘Now, Messiah, if you are a prophet, tell us who hit you.’ Meanwhile Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard when a servant-girl accosted him; ‘You were with Jesus the Galilean,’ she said. Peter denied it in front of them all. ‘I do not know what you are talking about,’ he said. He then went out to the gateway, where another girl, seeing him, said to the people there, ‘He was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ Once again he denied it, saying with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’ Shortly afterwards the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘You must be one of them; your accent gives you away!’ At this he started to curse and declared with an oath:‘I do not know the man.’ At that moment a cock crowed; and Peter remembered how Jesus had said, ‘Before the cock crows you will disown me three times,’ and he went outside, and wept bitterly. When morning came, the chief priests and the elders of the nation all met together to plan the death of Jesus. They bound him and led him away, to hand him over to Pilate, the Roman governor. When Judas the traitor saw that Jesus had been condemned, he was seized with remorse, and returned the thirty silver pieces to the chief priests and elders. ‘I have sinned,’ he said; ‘I have brought an innocent man to his death.’ But they said, ‘What is that to us? It is your concern.’ So he threw the money down in the temple and left; he went away and hanged himself.

Acts 16:16-34:Paul Prevents a Suicide Once, on our way to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who was possessed by a spirit of divination and brought large profits to her owners by telling fortunes. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, and are declaring to you a way of salvation.’ She did this day after day, until, in exasperation, Paul rounded on the spirit. ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her,’ he said, and it came out instantly. When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of profit had gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the city authorities in the main square; bringing them before the magistrates, they alleged, ‘These men are causing a disturbance in our city; they are Jews, and they are advocating practices which it is illegal for us Romans to adopt and follow.’ The mob joined in the attack; and the magistrates had the prisoners stripped and gave orders for them to be flogged. After a severe beating they were flung into prison and the jailer was ordered to keep them under close guard. In view of these orders, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas, at their prayers, were singing praises to God, and the other prisoners were listening, when suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken; the doors burst open and all the prisoners found their fetters unfastened. The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open and, assuming that the prisoners had

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escaped, drew his sword intending to kill himself. But Paul shouted, ‘Do yourself no harm; we are all here.’ The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and threw himself down before Paul and Silas, trembling with fear. He then escorted them out and said, Sirs, what must Ido to be saved?’ They answered, ‘Put your trust in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household,’ and they imparted the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. At that late hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds, and there and then he and his whole family were baptized. He brought them up into his house, set out a meal, and rejoiced with his whole household in his new-found faith in God.

I Corinthians 3:9-17:The Body as Temple Or again, you are God’s building. God gave me the privilege of laying the foundation like a skilled master builder; others put up the building. Let each take care how he builds. There can be no other foundation than the one already laid:Imean Jesus Christ himself. If anyone builds on that foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones, or with wood, hay, and straw, the work that each does will at last be brought to light; the day of judgement will expose it. For that day dawns in fire, and the fire will test the worth of each person’s work. If anyone’s building survives, he will be rewarded; if it burns down, he will have to bear the loss; yet he will escape with his life, though only by passing through the fire. Surely you know that you are God’s temple, where the Spirit of God dwells. Anyone who destroys God’s temple will himself be destroyed by God, because the temple of God is holy; and you are that temple.

Philippians 1:12-26:Paul in Prison:On the Desire to Die My friends, Iwant you to understand that the progress of the gospel has actually been helped by what has happened to me. It has become common knowledge throughout the imperial guard, and indeed among the public at large, that my imprisonment is in Christ’s cause; and my being in prison has given most of our fellow-Christians confidence to speak the word of God fearlessly and with extraordinary courage. Some, it is true, proclaim Christ in a jealous and quarrelsome spirit, but some do it in goodwill. These are moved by love, knowing that it is to defend the gospel that Iam where Iam; the others are moved by selfish ambition and present Christ from mixed motives, meaning to cause me distress as Ilie in prison. What does it matter? One way or another, whether sincerely or not, Christ is proclaimed; and for that Irejoice. Yes, and Ishall go on rejoicing; for Iknow well that the issue will be my deliverance, because you are praying for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ is given me for support. It is my confident hope that nothing will daunt me or prevent me from speaking boldly; and that now as always Christ will display his greatness in me, whether the verdict be life or death. For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. If Iam to go on living in the body there is fruitful work for me to do. Which then am Ito choose? Icannot tell. Iam pulled two ways:my own desire is to depart and be with Christ—that is better by far; but for your sake the greater need is for me to remain in the body. This convinces me:Iam sure Ishall remain, and stand by you all to ensure your progress and joy in the faith, so that on my account you may have even more cause for pride in Christ Jesus—through seeing me restored to you.

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LOTUS SUTRA (c. 50–c. 200) from Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King (expanded in Archive)

The Lotus Sutra, or Saddharma Pundarika Sutra, is one of the earliest Mahayana Buddhist texts and is considered to be the principal Mahayana sutra. Developing somewhat after Hinayana, the more ancient form of Buddhism that later evolved into modern Theravada, Mahayana is the second, though larger, of the two main branches of Buddhist thought. Mahayana Buddhism developed in India between the 2nd century b.c. and the 1st century a.d., and by the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries a.d. had begun to spread into China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Vietnam, and Central Asia, where further schools such as Pure Land Buddhism and Zen appeared. Mahayana Buddhism is more liberal in its interpretations of the teachings of the historical Buddha than Theravada, with a more mythologized interpretation of the nature of the Buddha; it also incorporates a wider variety of practices. Its monastic communities, or sangha, can include both lay believers and monks, both of whom can seek to become bodhisattva, aspirants to bodhi who seek to reach or enlightenment, who will also help all beings achieve nirvana. Although Buddhism remains widespread in much of Asia, by the 13th century a.d., it had largely disappeared from India. Little is known about the origin of the Lotus Sutra, also called the Lotus of the True Law, although most scholars place its composition sometime in the 1st century a.d., with its final form being reached around 200 a.d. The earliest translation of the Lotus Sutra into Chinese was made by Dharmaraksha in 286 a.d., and it has become the most popular Buddhist text in China and Japan. It is the sole canonical text for Japanese Buddhists of the Nichiren sect. In its fairly simple, accessible literary style, illustrated with parables and poetic images, the Lotus Sutra propounds all the major doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism and focuses on the doctrine of the “one true vehicle [or way],” Ekayana, which includes both the “greater vehicle,” Mahayana, and the “lesser vehicle,” Theravada. In a parable, the Buddha explains the nature of revelation and the way in which it is adapted to the limited faculties of not-yet-enlightened human beings, until they are ready for full revelation. The dramatic narrative of the Lotus Sutra contains a succession of dialogues that serve to make an impression on the reader of the great wisdom, power, and eminence of the Buddha. The selection presented here centers on a discourse given by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, who lived from c. 563–483 b.c., to a congregation of followers at a famed place called Vulture’s Peak. He is represented as an almost eternal being, omnipotent, nearly free from the cycle of birth and rebirth, though from time to time, he descends to earth and is reborn among humans, as is the case in the discourse at Vulture’s Peak. The discourse stresses the proper use of wisdom, the need for compassion, and the importance of moral living. The section of the text presented here is a Buddhist version of the myth of the phoenix. In it, a monk, the bodhisattva Mahasattva Sarvasattvapriyadarshana, or the bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living Beings, feeds himself for 12years on the substances usually used in sacrificial rituals and then, by self-immolation, sacrifices his perfumed and anointed body to the Buddha. The Bodhisattva’s body burns for 1,200years before he is reborn, having achieved a “heroic feat.” This is one step on his way to final extinction, having achieved Nirvana.

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Source Lotus Sutra, ch. 23, “Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King,” tr. Burton Watson, NewYork:Columbia University Press, 1993, pp. 280–289. Footnotes interpolated.

from THE LOTUS SUTRA Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King “At that time, for the sake of the bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living Beings and the other numerous bodhisattvas and multitude of voice-hearers, the Buddha preached the Lotus Sutra. This bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living Beings delighted in carrying out arduous practices. In the midst of the Law preached by the buddha Sun Moon Pure Bright Virtue he applied himself diligently and traveled about here and there, single-mindedly seeking Buddhahood for a period of fully twelve thousand years. After that he was able to gain the Samadhi in which one can manifest all physical forms. Having gained this Samadhi, his heart was filled with great joy and he thought to himself:My gaining the Samadhi in which I can manifest all physical forms is due entirely to the fact that I heard the Lotus Sutra. Imust now make an offering to the buddha Sun Moon Pure Bright Virtue and to the Lotus Sutra! “Immediately he entered the Samadhi and in the midst of the sky rained down mandarava flowers, great mandarava flowers, and finely ground, hard black particles of sandalwood; they filled the whole sky like clouds as they came raining down.... All these he used as an offering to the Buddha. “When he had finished making this offering, he rose from his Samadhi and thought to himself:Though Ihave employed my supernatural powers to make this offering to the Buddha, it is not as good as making an offering of my own body. “Thereupon he swallowed various perfumes, sandalwood, kunduruka, turushka, prikka, aloes, and liquidambar gum, and he also drank the fragrant oil of champaka and other kinds of flowers, doing this for a period of fully twelve hundred years. Anointing his body with fragrant oil, he appeared before the Buddha Sun Moon Pure Bright Virtue, wrapped his body in heavenly jeweled robes, poured fragrant oil over his head and, calling on his transcendental powers, set fire to his body. The glow shone forth, illuminating worlds equal in number to the sands of eighty million Ganges. The Buddhas in these worlds simultaneously spoke out in praise, saying:‘Excellent, excellent, good man! This is true diligence. This is what is called a true Dharma offering to the Thus Come One.... Though one may make donations of his realm and cities, his wife and children, he is no match for this! Good man, this is called the foremost donation of all. Among all donations, this is the most highly prized, for one is offering the Dharma to the Thus Come ones!’ “After they had spoken these words, they each one fell silent. The body of the bodhisattva burned for twelve hundred years, and when that period of time had passed, it at last burned itself out.

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“After the bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living Beings had made this Dharma offering and his life had come to an end, he was reborn in the land of the buddha Sun Moon Pure Bright Virtue, in the household of the king Pure Virtue. Sitting in cross-legged position, he was suddenly born by transformation, and at once for the benefit of his father he spoke in verse form, saying:

Great king, you should now understand this. Having walked about in a certain place, I immediately gained the Samadhi that allows me to manifest all physical forms. I have carried out my endeavors with great diligence and cast aside the body that I loved. “When he had recited this verse, he said to his father:‘The buddha Sun Moon Pure Bright Virtue is still present at this time. Previously Imade an offering to this buddha and gained a dharani that allows me to understand the words of all living beings. Moreover I have heard this Lotus Sutra with its eight hundred, thousand, ten thousand, millions of [extremely large numerical units], nayutas, kankaras, vivaras, akshobhyas of verses. Great king, Imust now once more make an offering to this buddha.’... *** “At that time the buddha Sun Moon Pure Bright Virtue said to the bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living Beings:‘Good man, the time has come for my nirvana. The time has come for extinction. You may provide me with a comfortable couch, for tonight will be my parinirvana.’ “He also commanded the bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living Beings, saying:‘Good man, Itake this Law of the Buddha and entrust it to you. In addition, the bodhisattvas and great disciples, along with the Law of anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, and the thousand-millionfold seven-jeweled world, with its jeweled trees and jeweled daises and heavenly beings who wait on and attend them—all these Ihand over to you. Ialso entrust to you the relics of my body that remain after Ihave passed into extinction. You must distribute them abroad and arrange for offerings to them far and wide. You should erect many thousands of towers [to house them].’ “The buddha Sun Moon Pure Bright Virtue, having given these commands to the bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living Beings, that night, in the last watch of the night, entered nirvana. “At that time the bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living Beings, seeing the buddha pass into extinction, was deeply grieved and distressed. Out of his great love and longing for the buddha he at once prepared a pyre made of sandalwood from the seashore, and with this as an offering to the buddha’s body, he cremated the body.... “At that time the bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living Beings once more thought to himself:Though Ihave made these offerings, my mind is not yet satisfied. Imust make some further offering to the relics. “Then he spoke to the other bodhisattvas and great disciples, and to the heavenly beings, dragons, yakshas, and all the members of the great assembly, saying, ‘You must give your

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undivided attention. Iwill now make an offering to the relics of the buddha Sun Moon Pure Bright Virtue.’ “Having spoken these words, immediately in the presence of the eighty-four thousand towers he burned his arms, which were adorned with a hundred blessings, for a period of seventy-two thousand years as his offering. This caused the numberless multitudes who were seeking to become voice-hearers, along with an immeasurable asamkhya of persons, to conceive a desire for anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, and all of them were able to dwell in the Samadhi where one can manifest all physical forms. “At that time the bodhisattvas, heavenly and human beings, asuras and others, seeing that the bodhisattva had destroyed his arms, were alarmed and saddened and they said:‘This bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living beings is our teacher, instructing and converting us. Now he has burned his arms and his body is no longer whole!’ “At that time, in the midst of the great assembly, the bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living Beings made this vow, saying:‘I have cast away both my arms. Iam certain to attain the golden body of a buddha. If this is true and not false, then may my two arms become as they were before!’ “When he had finished pronouncing this vow, his arms reappeared of themselves as they had been before. This came about because the merits and wisdom of this bodhisattva were manifold and profound. At that time the thousand-millionfold world shook and trembled in six different ways, heaven rained down jeweled flowers, and all the heavenly and human beings gained what they had never had before.” The buddha said to the bodhisattva Constellation King Flower:“What do you think? Is this bodhisattva Gladly Seen by All Living Beings someone unknown to you? He is in fact none other than the present bodhisattva Medicine King! He cast aside his body as an offering in this fashion immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of nayutas of times. “Constellation King Flower, if there are those who have made up their minds and wish to gain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, they would do well to burn a finger or one toe of their foot as an offering to the Buddha towers. It is better than offering one’s realm and cities, wife and children, or the mountains, forests, rivers, and lakes in the ‘lands of the thousand-millionfold world, of all their precious treasures. Even if a person were to fill the whole thousand-million world with the seven treasures as an offering to the Buddha and the great bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas and arhats, the benefits gained by such a person cannot match those gained by accepting and upholding this Lotus Sutra, even just one four-line verse of it! The latter brings the most numerous blessings of all. “Constellation King Flower, among all the rivers, streams, and other bodies of water, for example, the ocean is foremost. And this Lotus Sutra is likewise, being the most profound and greatest of the sutras preached by the Thus Come Ones.... Among all the stars and their like, the moon, a god’s son, is foremost, so this Lotus Sutra is likewise. For among all the thousands, ten thousands, millions of types of sutra teachings, it shines the brightest. And just as the sun, a god’s son, can banish all darkness, so too this sutra is capable of destroying the darkness of all that is not good. ... “A person who can accept and uphold this sutra is likewise foremost among all living beings. Bodhisattvas are foremost among all voice-hearers and pratyekabuddhas, and in the same way

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this sutra is foremost among all the sutra teachings. As the Buddha is king of the doctrines, so likewise this sutra is king of the sutras. “Constellation King Flower, this sutra can save all living beings. This sutra can cause all living beings to free themselves from suffering and anguish. This sutra can bring great benefits to all living beings and fulfill their desires, as a clear cool pond can satisfy all those who are thirsty. It is like a fire to one who is cold, a robe to one who is naked, like a band of merchants finding a leader, a child finding its mother, someone finding a ship in which to cross the water, a sick man finding a doctor, someone in darkness finding a lamp, the poor finding riches, the people finding a ruler, a traveling merchant finding his way to the sea. It is like a torch that banishes darkness. Such is this Lotus Sutra. It can cause living beings to cast off all distress, all sickness and pain. It can unloose all the bonds of birth and death. “If a person is able to hear this Lotus Sutra, if he copies it himself or causes others to copy it, the benefits he gains thereby will be such that even the Buddha wisdom could never finish calculating their extent.... “Constellation King Flower, if there is a person who hears this chapter on the Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King, he too will gain immeasurable and boundless benefits. If there is a woman who hears this chapter on the Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King and is able to accept and uphold it, that will be her last appearance in a woman’s body and she will never be born in that form again. “If in the last five hundred year period after the Thus Come One has entered extinction there is a woman who hears this sutra and carries out its practices as the sutra directs, when her life here on earth comes to an end she will immediately go to the world of Peace and Delight where the buddha Amitayus dwells surrounded by the assembly of great bodhisattvas and there will be born [in male form] seated on a jeweled seat in the center of a lotus blossom. He will no longer know the torments of greed, desire, anger, rage, stupidity of ignorance, or the torments brought about by arrogance, envy or other defilements. He will gain the bodhisattva’s transcendental powers and the truth of the birthlessness of all phenomena. Having gained this truth, his faculty of sight will be clear and pure, and with this clear pure faculty of sight he will see Buddhas and Thus Come Ones equal in number to the sands of seven hundred twelve thousand million nayutas of Ganges. ... “For this reason, Constellation King Flower, Ientrust this chapter on the Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King to you. After Ihave passed into extinction, in the last five hundred year period you must spread it abroad widely throughout Jambudvipa and never allow it to be cut off, nor must you allow evil devils, the devils’ people, heavenly beings, dragons, yakshas of kumbhanda demons to seize the advantage! “Constellation King Flower, you must use your transcendental powers to guard and protect this sutra. Why? Because this sutra provides good medicine for the ills of the people of Jambudvipa. If a person who has an illness is able to hear this sutra, then his illness will be wiped out and he will know neither old age or death. ... “For this reason when those who seek the Buddha way see someone who accepts and upholds this sutra, they should approach him with this kind of respect and reverence.”

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When [the Buddha] preached this chapter on the Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King, eighty-four thousand bodhisattvas gained the dharani that allows them to understand the words of all living beings.

TACITUS (c. 55–c. 117) from The Annals:The Death of Seneca

Cornelius Tacitus, born in northern Italy or southern Gaul, was a Roman political leader and historian who chronicled Roman history of the 1st century a.d. He was educated in rhetoric in Rome for a career in law and apparently served in several positions of leadership, including quaestor, praetor, and consul. In the year 112 or 113, he held the position of proconsul, or local governor, in the Roman province of Asia. Tacitus spent the last years of his life working on his histories. Tacitus wrote two major historical works, the Histories (104–109), arranged into 14 books, and the Annals (c. 115–117), comprised of 16 books. These compositions, of which fewer than half survive today, together provide a history of Rome from the years 14 to 96 a.d. In the fifteenth book of the Annals, Tacitus relates the suicide of the Stoic statesman Seneca the Younger [q.v.], whose writings on suicide are also included in this volume. According to this account, Seneca was implicated in a conspiracy instigated by the plebeian Piso against the emperor Nero. Earlier in his life, Seneca had been Nero’s tutor, and later, together with Burrus, became a trusted advisor to Nero. It is said that much of the decency and moderation of the first five years of Nero’s rule may be attributed to the guidance of Seneca and Burrus. However, Nero grew envious of Seneca’s fortune and attempted to have him poisoned. After the attempt failed, Nero accused Seneca of involvement in the conspiracy and gave the imperial order that Seneca commit suicide. In Tacitus’ account, Seneca voluntarily complied with the order. He also consented to his wife Paulina’s determination to die with him, and they opened their veins together. After a prolonged period of suffering, poison was administered and eventually caused Seneca to die; Paulina’s attempt at suicide was prevented at Nero’s command once she herself was already unconscious. Tacitus’ account conveys Seneca’s expectation that his suicide, despite the fact that it was unjustly ordered by Nero, will be viewed as an act of courage, to be rewarded with fame and glory, though less so than Paulina’s suicide. He says to her:“we will leave behind us an example of equal constancy; but the glory will be all your own.” Seneca’s death is often regarded as a model of Stoic suicide.

Source Tacitus, The Annals, Book XV, 60–64, ed. E. H.Blakeney, tr. Arthur Murray, NewYork:E. P.Dutton; London:J. M.Dent & Sons, 1908, Vol. 1, pp. 498–502.

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from THE ANNALS:THE DEATH

OF SENECA

The next exploit of Nero was the death of Seneca. Against that eminent man no proof of guilt appeared; but the emperor thirsted for his blood, and what poison had not accomplished, he was determined to finish by the sword. Natalis was the only person who had mentioned his name. The chief head of his accusation was, “That he himself had been sent on a visit to Seneca, then confined by illness, with instructions to mention to him, that Piso often called at his house, but never could gain admittance, though it was the interest of both to live on terms of mutual friendship.” To this Seneca made answer, “That private interviews could be of no service to either; but still his happiness was grafted on the safety of Piso.” Granius Silvanus, a tribune of the prætorian guards, was dispatched to Seneca, with directions to let him know what was alleged against him, and to inquire whether he admitted the conversation stated by Natalis, with the answers given by himself. Seneca, by design or accident, was that very day on his return from Campania. He stopped at a villa of his own about four miles from Rome. Towards the close of day the tribune arrived, and beset the house with a band of soldiers. Seneca was at supper with his wife Pompeia Paulina, and two of his friends, when Silvanus entered the room, and reported the orders of the emperor. Seneca did not hesitate to acknowledge that Natalis had been at his house, with a complaint that Piso’s visits were not received. His apology, he said, imported no more than want of health, the love of ease, and the necessity of attending to a weak and crazy constitution. “That he should prefer the interest of a private citizen to his own safety was too absurd to be believed. He had no motives to induce him to pay such a compliment to any man; adulation was no part of his character. This is a truth well known to Nero himself:he can tell you that, on various occasions, he found in Seneca a man, who spoke his mind with freedom, and disdained the arts of servile flattery.” Silvanus returned to Rome. He found the prince in company with Poppæa and Tigellinus, who, as often as cruelty was in agitation, formed the cabinet council. In their presence the messenger reported his answer. Nero asked, “Does Seneca prepare to end his days by a voluntary death?” “He showed,” said the tribune, “no symptom of fear, no token of sorrow, no dejected passion:his words and looks bespoke a mind serene, erect, and firm.” “Return,” said Nero, “and tell him he must resolve to die.” Silvanus, according to the account of Fabius Rusticus, chose to go back by a different road. He went through a private way to Fenius Rufus, to advise with that officer, whether he should execute the emperor’s orders. Rufus told him that he must obey. Such was the degenerate spirit of the times. A general panic took possession of every mind. This very Silvanus was one of the conspirators, and yet was base enough to be an instrument of the cruelty which he had combined to revenge. He had, however, the decency to avoid the shock of seeing Seneca, and of delivering in person the fatal message. He sent a centurion to perform that office for him. Seneca heard the message with calm composure. He called for his will, and being deprived of that right of a Roman citizen by the centurion, he turned to his friends. And “You see,” he said, “that Iam not at liberty to requite your services with the last marks of my esteem. One thing,

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however, still remains. Ileave you the example of my life, the best and most precious legacy now in my power. Cherish it in your memory, and you will gain at once the applause due to virtue, and the fame of a sincere and generous friendship.” All who were present melted into tears. He endeavored to assuage their sorrows; he offered his advice with mild persuasion; he used the tone of authority. “Where,” he said, “are the precepts of philosophy, and where the words of wisdom, which for years have taught us to meet the calamities of life with firmness and a well prepared spirit? Was the cruelty of Nero unknown to any of us? He murdered his mother; he destroyed his brother; and, after those deeds of horror, what remains to fill the measure of his guilt but the death of his guardian and his tutor?” Having delivered himself in these pathetic terms, he directed his attention to his wife. He clasped her in his arms, and in that fond embrace yielded for a while to the tenderness of his nature. Recovering his resolution, he entreated her to appease her grief, and bear in mind that his life was spent in a constant course of honour and of virtue. That consideration would serve to heal affliction, and sweeten all her sorrows. Paulina was still inconsolable. She was determined to die with her husband; she invoked the aid of the executioners, and begged to end her wretched being. Seneca saw that she was animated by the love of glory, and that generous principle he thought ought not to be restrained. The idea of leaving a beloved object exposed to the insults of the world, and the malice of her enemies, pierced him to the quick. “It has been my care,” he said, “to instruct you in that best philosophy, the art of mitigating the ills of life; but you prefer an honourable death. Iwill not envy you the vast renown that must attend your fall. Since you will have it so, we will die together. We will leave behind us an example of equal constancy; but the glory will be all your own.” These words were no sooner uttered, than the veins of both their arms were opened. At Seneca’s time of life the blood was slow and languid. The decay of nature, and the impoverishing diet to which he had used himself, left him in a feeble condition. He ordered the vessels of his legs and joints to be punctured. After that operation, he began to labour with excruciating pains. Lest his sufferings should overpower the constancy of his wife, or the sight of her afflictions prove too much for his own sensibility, he persuaded her to retire into another room. His eloquence still continued to flow with its usual purity. He called for his secretaries, and dictated, while life was ebbing away, that farewell discourse, which has been published, and is in everybody’s hands. Iwill not injure his last words by giving the substance in another form. Nero had conceived no antipathy to Paulina. If she perished with her husband, he began to dread the public execration. That he might not multiply the horrors of his present cruelty, he sent orders to exempt Paulina from the stroke of death. The slaves and freedmen, by the direction of the soldiers, bound up her arm, and stopped the effusion of blood. This, it is said, was done without her knowledge, as she lay in a state of languor. The fact, however, cannot be known with certainty. Vulgar malignity, which is ever ready to detract from exalted virtue, spread a report, that, as long as she had reason to think that the rage of Nero was implacable, she had the ambition to share the glory of her husband’s fate; but a milder prospect being unexpectedly presented, the charms of life gained admission to her heart, and triumphed over her constancy. She lived a few years longer, in fond regret, to the end of her days, revering the memory of her husband. The weakness of her whole frame, and the sickly languor of her countenance, plainly showed that she had been reduced to the last extremity.

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Seneca lingered in pain. The approach of death was slow, and he wished for his dissolution. Fatigued with pain, worn out and exhausted, he requested his friend, Statius Annaeus, whose fidelity and medical skill he had often experienced, to administer a draught of that swift-speeding poison, usually given at Athens to the criminals adjudged to death. He swallowed the potion, but without any immediate effect. His limbs were chilled:the vessels of his body were closed, and the ingredients, though keen and subtle, could not arrest the principles of life. He desired to be placed in a warm bath. Being conveyed according to his desire, he sprinkled his slaves with the water, and “Thus,” he said, “I make libation to Jupiter the deliverer.” The vapour soon overpowered him, and he was committed to the flames. He had given directions for that purpose in his last will, made at a time when he was in the zenith of power, and even then looked forward to the close of his days.

EPICTETUS (c. 55–c. 135) from Discourses:

How From the Doctrine of Our Relationship to God We Are to Deduce Its Consequences How We Should Bear Illness (in Archive only) Of Freedom

Born in Hierapolis, Phrygia (modern Turkey) to a slave woman, Epictetus was himself a slave during his childhood and adolescence. He was lame, according to Origen’s account, from injuries caused by his master Epaphroditus’s twisting his leg until he broke it, although others accounts describe Epaphroditus as a good master. Epaphroditus, himself a freedman of Nero, sent Epictetus to study with the most influential Stoic teacher and theoretician of the time, Gaius Musonius Rufus, and Epictetus was freed by his master, or on the death of his master, sometime after Nero’s death in 68. Epictetus traveled to Rome and began instructing students in Stoicism. In the year 90, he was expelled, along with other Stoic philosophers, by the Roman emperor Domitian, and then moved to Epirus, where he led a large, thriving school of Stoic physics, logic, and ethics. He did not marry, but in his old age, with the help of a nurse, he took in an orphaned child who would otherwise have been exposed. Epictetus’ teachings were collected in two volumes by his pupil Lucius Flavius Arrian: the Discourses, written about 108, of which four of eight books survive, and the Encheiridion (also called the Manual or Handbook), made up of fragments from the Discourses. Arrian explains their informal expression by saying he did not intend to write a book, but to keep notes of what he used to hear Epictetus say “word for word in the very language he used, as far as possible, to capture the directness of his speech.”

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Epictetus espoused the Stoic view of the ideal condition for a human being—to be aware of, yet immune to, the bruisings of fortune—to lack all dissatisfaction with anything about the world, to be disappointed by nothing, and to achieve an impersonal point of view. Yet Epictetus also held that if you can help people adjust their desires and attitudes to more realistic levels, you can help them improve their lives. To live in accordance with virtue is to live in accordance with nature, but in giving practical advice, Epictetus clearly realized that lowered expectations were less likely to be disappointed. A number of Stoic thinkers, especially Seneca, celebrated suicide as the act of the wise man:it was the guarantee of freedom. Epictetus stressed a component of the Stoic view that suicide ought not to be undertaken too quickly to avoid suffering, since people can live best by accepting their powerlessness over circumstances through their capacity for control of the will and by refusing to allow the vicissitudes of life, even illness, to affect them. One need not in general kill oneself to avoid the sufferings of life, and to do so without good reason would be inappropriate. Epictetus used the Platonic (and originally Pythagorean) argument that traded on the metaphor of the person as guard or sentinel, stationed by God at a post, to discourage suicide in response to painful circumstances:“Friends, wait for God, till he give the signal and dismiss you from this service; then depart to him. For the present, endure to remain at this post where he has placed you.” Strategies like analysis, delay, detachment, and so on may minimize fortune’s blows. Yet suicide is the most drastic method of escaping pain, and it can certainly be used when all else has failed:The door, to use the frequent Stoic metaphor, is always open.

Source Epictetus, Discourses, Book 1, ch. 9; Book III, ch. 10; Book IV, ch. 1, tr. Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1865), Roslyn, NY:Walter J.Black, Inc., 1944, pp. 27–28, 198–199, 281–282.

from DISCOURSES How From the Doctrine of Our Relationship to God We Are to Deduce its Consequences I think that your old teacher ought not to have to be working to keep you from thinking or speaking too meanly or ignobly of yourselves, but should rather be working to keep young men of spirit who, knowing their affinity to the gods and how we are, as it were, fettered by the body and its possessions, and by the many other things that thus are needful for the daily pursuits of life, from resolving to throw them all off, as troublesome and vexatious and useless, and depart to their divine kindred. This is the work that ought to employ your master and teacher, if you had one. You would come to him and say:“Epictetus, we can no longer bear being tied down to this poor body—feeding, and resting, and cleaning it, and vexed with so many low cares on its account. Are not these things indifferent and nothing to us and death no evil? Are we not kindred to God; and did we not come from him? Suffer us to go back whence we came. Suffer us to be

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released at last from these fetters that bind and weigh us down. Here thieves and robbers, courts and tyrants, claim power over us, through the body and its possessions. Suffer us to show them that they have no power.” In which case it would be my part to answer:“Friends, wait for God, till he give the signal and dismiss you from this service; then depart to him. For the present, endure to remain at this post where he has placed you. The time of your abode here is short and easy for men like you; for what tyrant, what thief, or what court can be formidable to those who count as nothing the body and its possessions? Wait, do not foolishly depart.”

Of Freedom [Socrates] did not even deliberate about it; though he knew that, perhaps, he might die for it. But what did that signify to him? For it was something else that he wanted to preserve, not his mere flesh; but his fidelity, his honor, free from attack or subjection. And afterwards, when he was to make a defense for his life, does he behave like one having children, or a wife? No, but like a man alone in the world. And how does he behave, when required to drink the poison? When he might escape, and Crito would have him escape from prison for the sake of his children, what did he say? Does he think it a fortune opportunity? How should he? But he considers what is becoming, and neither sees nor regards anything else. “For Iam not desirous,” he says, “to preserve this pitiful body; but that part which is improved and preserved by justice, and impaired and destroyed by injustice.” Socrates is not to be basely preserved. He who refused to vote for what the Athenians commanded; he who despised the thirty tyrants; he who held such discourses on virtue and mortal beauty—such a man is not to be preserved by a base action, but is preserved by dying, instead of running away. For a good actor is saved when he stops when he should stop, rather than acting beyond his time. “What then will become of your children?” “If I had gone away into Thessaly, you would have taken care of them; and will there be no one to take care of them when I am departed to Hades?” You see how he ridicules and plays with death. But if it had been you or I, we should presently have proved by philosophical arguments that those who act unjustly are to be repaid in their own way; and should have added, “If I escape I shall be of use to many; if I die, to none.” Nay, if it had been necessary, we should have crept through a mouse hole to get away. But how should we have been of use to anybody? Where could we be of use? If we were useful alive, should we not be of still more use to mankind by dying when we ought and as we ought? And now the remembrance of the death of Socrates is not less, but even more useful to the world than that of the things which he did and said when alive. Study these points, these principles, these discourses; contemplate these examples if you would be free, if you desire the thing in proportion to its value. And where is the wonder that you should purchase so good a thing at the price of other things, be they never so many and so great? Some hang themselves, others break their necks, and sometimes even whole cities have been destroyed for that which is reputed freedom; and will not you for the sake of the true and secure and inviolable freedom, repay God what he has given when he demands it? Will you study not

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only, as Plato says, how to die, but how to be tortured and banished and scourged; and, in short, how to give up all that belongs to others? If not, you will be a slave among slaves, though you were ten thousand times a consul; and even though you should rise to the palace, you will be a slave none the less.

PLINY THE YOUNGER (62–113) from Letters:

To Calestrius Tiro To Catilius Severus (expanded in Archive) To Marcilius Nepos (in Archive only) To Calpurnius Macer (in Archive only)

Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, known as Pliny the Younger to differentiate him from his uncle Gaius Plinius Secundus, Pliny the Elder (23–79) [q.v.], had a successful career in the Roman Senate. He was a consul and governor of Bithynia and Pontica in the years just before his death; his comments on the treatment of Christians in these provinces are among the earliest historical references to Christianity. Pliny’s work is preserved in 10 volumes of letters (some 368 in all) that constitute an important source of first-hand documentation and social commentary concerning life in the Roman Empire at the turn of the 1st century. Pliny’s Letters include accounts of deliberations about suicide by two friends, one, Corellius Rufus, who killed himself to avoid further suffering from incurable illness, and another, Titius Aristo, who decided not to do so if there were any chance of recovery. In both cases, the prospect of suicide is made known to or discussed with family members, friends, and a physician. There is the famous Arria, who consulted with no one at all, as well as the less famous woman of Lake Como who forces her husband into suicide to avoid a lethal condition by tying herself to him and jumping into the lake. Pliny’s particular interest is in the role of reason in such deliberations about suicide. Nevertheless, for Pliny, understanding a suicide or contemplated suicide does not diminish his grief or anxiety over it.

Sources The Letters of the Younger Pliny, With An Introductory Essay by John B.Firth. NewYork and Felling-onTyne:Walter Scott Ltd., 1900. Book I, Letter XII, “To Calestrius Tiro”; Book I, Letter XXII, “To Catilius Severus”; Book III, Letter 16, “To Marcilius Nepos,” following the Teubner text, ed. Keil, available at Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org, text #3234. “To Calpurnius Macer,” Book VI, Letter 24. Pliny:Letters and Panegyricus, tr. Betty Radice, Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press, 1969, p.455. Online at www. gutenberg.org.

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from LETTERS To Calestrius Tiro I have suffered a most grievous loss, if loss is a word that can be applied to my being bereft of so distinguished a man. Corellius Rufus is dead, and what makes my grief the more poignant is that he died by his own act. Such a death is always most lamentable, since neither natural causes nor Fate can be held responsible for it. When people die of disease there is a great consolation in the thought that no one could have prevented it; when they lay violent hands on themselves we feel a pang which nothing can assuage in the thought that they might have lived longer. Corellius, it is true, felt driven to take his own life by Reason—and Reason is always tantamount to Necessity with philosophers—and yet there were abundant inducements for him to live. His conscience was stainless, his reputation beyond reproach; he stood high in men’s esteem. Moreover, he had a daughter, a wife, a grandson, and sisters, and, besides all these relations, many genuine friends. But his battle against ill-health had been so long and hopeless that all these splendid rewards of living were outweighed by the reasons that urged him to die. I have heard him say that he was first attacked by gout in the feet when he was thirty-three years of age. He had inherited the complaint, for it often happens that a tendency to disease is handed down like other qualities in a sort of succession. While he was in the prime of life he overcame his malady and kept it well in check by abstemious and pure living, and when it became sharper in its attacks as he grew old he bore up against it with great fortitude of mind. Even when he suffered incredible torture and the most horrible agony—for the pain was no longer confined, as before, to the feet, but had begun to spread over all his limbs—I went to see him in the time of Domitian when he was staying at his country house. His attendants withdrew from his chamber, as they always did whenever one of his more intimate friends entered the room. Even his wife, a lady who might have been trusted to keep any secret, also used to retire. Looking round the room, he said:“Why do you think Iendure pain like this so long? It is that Imay outlive that tyrant, even if only by a single day.” Could you but have given him a frame fit to support his resolution, he would have achieved the object of his desire. However, some god heard his prayer and granted it, and then feeling that he could die without anxiety and as a free man ought, he snapped the bonds that bound him to life. Though they were many, he preferred death. His malady had become worse, though he tried to moderate it by his careful diet, and then, as it still continued to grow, he escaped from it by a fixed resolve. Two, three, four days passed and he refused all food. Then his wife Hispulla sent our mutual friend Caius Geminius to tell me the sad news that Corellius had determined to die, that he was not moved by the entreaties of his wife and daughter, and that Iwas the only one left who might possibly recall him to life. Iflew to see him, and had almost reached the house when Hispulla sent me another message by Julius Atticus, saying that now even Icould do nothing, for his resolve had become more and more fixed. When the doctor offered him nourishment he said, “My mind is made up,” and the word has awakened within me not only a sense of loss, but of admiration. Ikeep thinking what a friend, what a manly friend is now lost to me. He was at the end of his seventy-sixth year, an

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age long enough even for the stoutest of us. True. He has escaped a lifelong illness; he has died leaving children to survive him, and knowing that the State, which was dearer to him than everything else beside, was prospering well. Yes, yes, Iknow all this. And yet Igrieve at his death as Ishould at the death of a young man in the full vigour of life; Igrieve—you may think me weak for so doing—on my own account too. For Ihave lost, lost for ever, the guide, philosopher, and friend of my life. In short, Iwill say again what Isaid to my friend Calvisius, when my grief was fresh:“ I am afraid Ishall not live so well ordered a life now.” Send me a word of sympathy, but do not say, “He was an old man, or he was infirm.” These are hackneyed words; send me some that are new, that are potent to ease my trouble, that Icannot find in books or hear from my friends. For all that Ihave heard and read occur to me naturally, but they are powerless in the presence of my excessive sorrow. Farewell.

To Catilius Severus Here am Istill in Rome, and a good deal surprised to find myself here. But Iam troubled at the long illness of Titus Aristo, which he cannot shake off. He is a man for whom Ifeel an extraordinary admiration and affection:search where you will, he is second to none in character, uprightness, and learning—so much so that Ihardly look upon his illness as that of a mere individual being in danger. It is rather as if literature and all good arts were personified in him, and through him were in grievous peril. What a knowledge he has of private and public rights and the laws relating to them! What a mastery he has of things in general, what experience, what an acquaintance with the past! There is nothing you may wish to learn that he cannot teach you; to me, certainly, he is a perfect mine of learning whenever Iam requiring any out-of-the-way information. Then again, how convincing his conversation is, how strongly it impresses you, how modest and becoming is his hesitation! What is there that he does not know straight away? And yet, often enough, he shows hesitation and doubt, from the very diversity of the reasons that come crowding into his mind, and upon these he brings to bear his keen and mighty intellect, and, going back to their fountain-head, reviews them, tests them, and weighs them in the balance.... Yet in chastity of life, in piety, in justice, in courage even, there is no one of all his acquaintance to whom he need give place. You would marvel, if you were by his side, at the patience with which he endures his illness, how he fights against his suffering, how he resists his thirst, how, without moving and without throwing off his bed-clothes, he endures the dreadful burning heats of his fever. Just recently he sent for me and a few others of his especial friends with me, and begged us to consult his doctors and ask them about the termination of his illness, so that if there were no hope for him he might voluntarily give up his life, but might fight against it and hold out if the illness only threatened to be difficult and long. He owed it, he said, to the prayers of his wife, the tears of his daughter, and the regard of us who were his friends, not to cheat our hopes by a voluntary death, providing those hopes were not altogether futile. Ithink that such an acknowledgment as that must be especially difficult to make, and worthy of the highest praise; for many people are quite capable of hastening to death under the impulse of a sudden instinct, but only a truly noble mind can weigh up the pros and cons of the matter, and resolve to live or die according to the dictates of Reason. However, the doctors give us reassuring promises, and it now remains for the Deity to confirm and fulfil them, and so at length release me from my anxiety....

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JUSTIN MARTYR (c. 100–165) from The Second Apology:Why Christians Do

Not Kill Themselves

Saint Justin (the) Martyr, theologian and philosopher, was one of the first Christian apologists, sainted and numbered among the Fathers of the Church. He was born in the city of Flavia Neapolis (now Nabulus, West Bank), a Roman city built on the site of the ancient Shechem, in Samaria. His parents practiced the Roman religion. Justin studied Greek philosophy, especially that of Plato and the Stoics, before converting to Christianity; he also knew Judaism and GrecoRoman religion well. After his conversion to Christianity, he traveled about on foot defending its truths, often entering into violent controversies, and later opened a Christian school in Rome. He developed the conception of a divine plan in history and laid the foundation for a theology of history drawing from both philosophy and Christian revelation. In Rome, Justin wrote the Dialogue with Trypho, emphasizing the continuity of the Old and the New Testaments, and two Apologies for the Christians, collections of reasoned defenses against Roman allegations of Christian insurrection, directed to the emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. Justin’s work in general addressed a philosophically sophisticated Greek and Roman audience. After debating with the Cynic Crescens, however, Justin was denounced to the Roman prefect as subversive and condemned to death; he was scourged and martyred by beheading in Rome during the rule of Marcus Aurelius. In this very short selection from “The Second Apology,” Justin provides an earnest answer to the sort of flippant remark that might be made by a non-Christian detractor, perhaps a Roman who is influenced by Stoicism and thus views suicide as a potentially rational and prudent act, and who mocks the Christian belief in a personal afterlife. If Christians believe in a personal afterlife in which one will be received into the presence of God, the detractor seems to imply, why do they suffer martyrdom rather than commit suicide? Why not kill oneself and go directly to God? Justin’s brief answer alludes to the central Christian values of the educative, formative purpose of human life, the pursuit of moral good and the rejection of evil, and the importance of continuing the Christian faith (i.e., instruction in the divine doctrines), as well as preserving God’s creation, the human race itself; his reasons display the basis of the Christian belief that suicide is wrong.

Source Justin Martyr, “The Second Apology of Justin for the Christians Addressed to the Roman Senate,” ch. 4.In Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Philip Schaff, Vol I:The Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, Edinburgh, 1867.

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from THE SECOND AP OLOGY:WHY

CHRISTIANS DO NOT KILL THEMSELVES

Lest any one should say to us, ‘All of you, go, kill yourselves and thus go immediately to God, and save us the trouble,’ Iwill explain why we do not do that, and why, when interrogated, we boldly acknowledge our faith. We have been taught that God did not create the world without a purpose, but that He did so for the sake of mankind; for we have stated before that God is pleased with those who imitate His perfections, but is displeased with those who choose evil, either in word or in deed. If, then, we should all kill ourselves we would be the cause, as far as it is up to us, why no one would be born and be instructed in the divine doctrines, or even why the human race might cease to exist; if we do act thus, we ourselves will be opposing the will of God.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA (c. 150–c. 215) from The Miscellanies (Stromata) The Praises of Martyrdom (expanded in Archive) Those Who Offered Themselves for Martyrdom Reproved (in Archive only)

Titus Flavius Clemens, or St. Clement of Alexandria, was a Greek theologian of the early Christian church, the second known leader of the Alexandrian school of theology. He was born to a pagan family, allegedly in Athens, although his place of birth and the dates of his birth and death are uncertain. He studied under Pantaeus at the Catechetical School of Alexandria, the first Christian scholastic institution of its kind, known for promoting the allegorical method of biblical interpretation. Clement succeeded Pantaeus as its leader from about 190 until 203. Under the leadership of Pantaeus, Clement, and his pupil Origen, this school grew famous as a center of learning at the time. Clement was the author of Exhortation to the Greeks, the three books of The Tutors, and the eight books of the Stromateis or Stromata, usually translated as Miscellanies, from which the selections here are taken. Clement also wrote Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? In 202 or 203, Clement left Alexandria as a new round of persecutions of Christians began. In the short selections here, Clement addresses what had become a troubling issue for the church, especially during periods of persecution. Christians were committed to belief in God and the divinity of Christ, and would prefer death to denying this faith. But some writers, notably Ignatius [q.v.] and Tertullian [q.v.], stressed the desirability of martyrdom and exhorted Christians to become martyrs.

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Indeed, some Christians openly flaunted their faith as a way of courting or provoking their own martyrdom. Clement, in a view the church came to accept, opposes this excess; he honors the genuine martyr, the one who achieves perfection and performs “the perfect work of love” in voluntarily sacrificing his body, but excoriates those who have “rushed on death” or have “presented themselves for capture.” In Clement’s view, they are guilty in much the same way as the murderer and the self-killer, the suicide; while martyrdom is to be respected, the true Christian should do everything possible to avoid it, short of betraying one’s faith.

Source The Writings of Clement of Alexandria, Vol. II. Miscellanies (Stromata), Book IV, chs. iv, x, tr. Rev. William Wilson. Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Vol. XII. Edinburgh:T &T Clark, 1869, pp. 145– 148, 173–174.

from THE PRAISES OF MARTYRDOM Whence, as is reasonable, the gnostic, when called, obeys easily, and gives up his body to him who asks; and, previously divesting himself of the affections of this carcase, not insulting the tempter, but rather, in my opinion, training him and convincinghim,

“From what honour and what extent of wealth fallen,” as says Empedocles, here for the future he walks with mortals. He, in truth, bears witness to himself that he is faithful and loyal towards God; and to the tempter, that he in vain envied him who is faithful through love; and to the Lord, of the inspired persuasion in reference to His doctrine, from which he will not depart through fear of death; further, he confirms also the truth of preaching by his deed, showing that God to whom he hastes is powerful. You will wonder at his love, which he conspicuously shows with thankfulness, in being united to what is allied to him, and besides by his precious blood, shaming the unbelievers. He then avoids denying Christ through fear by reason of the command; nor does he sell his faith in the hope of the gifts prepared, but in love to the Lord he will most gladly depart from this life; perhaps giving thanks both to him who afforded the cause of his departure hence, and to him who laid the plot against him, for receiving an honourable reason which he himself furnished not, for showing what he is, to him by his patience, and to the Lord in love, by which even before his birth he was manifested to the Lord, who knew the martyr’s choice. With good courage, then, he goes to the Lord, his friend, for whom he voluntarily gave his body, and, as his judges hoped, his soul, hearing from our Savior the words of poetry, “Dear brother,” by reason of the similarity of his life. We call martyrdom perfection, not because the man comes to the end of his life as others, but because he has exhibited the perfect work of love. And the ancients laud the death of those among the Greeks who died in war, not that they advised people to die a violent death, but because he who ends his life in war is released without the dread of dying, severed from the body without experiencing previous suffering or being enfeebled in his soul, as the people that suffer in diseases. For they depart in a state of effeminacy and desiring to live; and therefore

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they do not yield up the soul pure, but bearing with it their lusts like weights of lead; all but those who have been conspicuous in virtue. Some die in battle with their lusts, these being in no respect different from what they would have been if they had wasted away by disease. If the confession to God is martyrdom, each soul which has lived purely in the knowledge of God, which has obeyed the commandments, is a witness both by life and word, in whatever way it may be released from the body,—shedding faith as blood along its whole life till its departure. For instance, the Lord says in the Gospel, “Whosoever shall leave father, or mother, or brethren,” and so forth, “for the sake of the gospel and my name,” he is blessed; not indicating simple martyrdom, but the gnostic martyrdom, as of the man who has conducted himself according to the rule of the gospel, in love to the Lord (for the knowledge of the Name and the understanding of the gospel point out the gnosis, but not the bare appellation), so as to leave his worldly kindred, and wealth, and every possession, in order to lead a life free from passion.... ... Now some of the heretics who have misunderstood the Lord, have at once an impious and cowardly love of life; saying that the true martyrdom is the knowledge of the only true God (which we also admit), and that the man is a self-murderer and a suicide who makes confession by death; and adducing other similar sophisms of cowardice. To these we shall reply at the proper time; for they differ with us in regard to first principles. Now we, too, say that those who have rushed on death (for there are some, not belonging to us, but sharing the name merely, who are in haste to give themselves up, the poor wretches dying through hatred to the Creator)— these, we say, banish themselves without being martyrs, even though they are punished publicly. For they do not preserve the characteristic mark of believing martyrdom, inasmuch as they have not known the only true God, but give themselves up to a vain death, as the Gymnosophists of the Indians to useless fire.

TERTULLIAN (c. 160–c. 220) from To the Martyrs (expanded in Archive) from The Crown of Martyrdom

Tertullian, born a Roman citizen at or near Carthage, was originally a pagan, the son of a Roman centurion. He was educated in rhetoric and law, the standard education of a well-to-do Roman, and converted to Christianity before the year 197. Following his conversion, Tertullian traveled through Greece and Asia Minor before settling in Carthage and marrying. According to St. Jerome, he served the church as a presbyter. He wrote numerous theological treatises, apologies, and attacks on various heresies, and was the first important Christian theologian to write in Latin. According to Augustine, Tertullian broke with Montanism and in his later years formed his own sect, the Tertullianists; some modern scholars assert that the sect was simply named after

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him. In either case, the sect survived some two centuries until the time of Augustine. Because of his apostasy, Tertullian was scorned in antiquity, but in the 19th and 20th centuries has been reconsidered to be a seminal figure in early Christianity and, with Augustine, one of the preeminent formative fathers of modern Christianity. Tertullian’s literary style was highly individualistic and original: he was witty, vehement, and eloquent, often employing puns and seeming contradictions. His work is often described as legalistic in character. Much of it falls into three main categories:attacks against Jews and other non-Christians (Apologeticum, an animated defense of Christians against Roman accusations of depravity and sedition, and Adversus Judaeos); denunciations of Christian heresies (Adversus Valentinianos, which attacked Gnosticism); and later writings in which he began to be critical of the “visible” Church and became sympathetic to the Montanists, a prophetic sect with a demanding moral code that had become well known from Asia Minor to Africa. Other writings (De cultu feminarum, on the proper dress of women, and De monogamia, concerning monogamy) dealt with practical and moral issues. Among his many contributions to Christian thought, Tertullian developed the concepts of the Trinity; of the dual nature, divine and human, of Jesus; and of Original Sin; as well as an early version of natural law and the view that Scripture can be interpreted rightly only within the Church, though he later emphasized private interpretation of scriptural texts. He promoted an extreme austerity in dress and fasting. In accordance with Montanist views, he strongly encouraged Christians to embrace persecution and even martyrdom. In the early work entitled “To the Martyrs,” Tertullian praises past martyrs and invites Christians to accept the “harsher treatment” God has prepared for them and consider the “heavenly glory and divine reward” that awaits the willing martyr. This work and “The Crown of Martyrdom” together provide an account of the merits and benefits of martyrdom. Tertullian’s exhortation to martyrdom poses a challenge to the line between suicide and martyrdom; in it, he presents a number of examples of suicide that Roman culture would have respected—Empedocles, Lucretia, Regulus—and argues in effect that Christians too should be respected for their steadfastness in persecution and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for their faith.

Sources Tertullian, “To the Martyrs,” chs. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, in Disciplinary, Moral, and Ascetical Works, trs. Rudolph Arbesmann, Emily Daly, and Edwin Quain, in The Fathers of the Church, ed. Roy Defarrari. NewYork: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1959, pp. 17–29; “The Crown of Martyrdom,” from The Christian’s Defense, in Fathers of the Church:ASelection of the Writings of the Latin Fathers, tr. F.A. Wright, London:George Routledge and Sons, Ltd., 1928, pp.48–51.

from TO THE MARTYRS Blessed martyrs elect, along with the nourishment for the body which our Lady Mother the Church from her breast, as well as individual brethren from their private resources, furnish you in prison, accept also from me some offering that will contribute to the sustenance of the spirit. For it is not good that the flesh be feasted while the spirit goes hungry....

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In the first place, then, O blessed, ‘do not grieve the Holy Spirit’ who has entered prison with you. For, if He had not accompanied you there in your present trial, you would not be there today. See to it, therefore, that He remain with you there and so lead you out of that place to the Lord. Indeed, the prison is the Devil’s house, too, where he keeps his household. But you have come to the prison for the purpose of trampling upon him right in his own house. For you have engaged him in battle already outside the prison and trampled him underfoot. ... O blessed, consider yourselves as having been transferred from prison to what we may call a place of safety. Darkness is there, but you are the light; fetters are there, but you are free before God. It breathes forth a foul smell, but you are an odor of sweetness. There the judge is expected at every moment, but you are going to pass sentence upon the judges themselves. There sadness may come upon the man who sighs for the pleasures of the world. The Christian, however, even when he is outside the prison, has renounced the world, and, when in prison, even prison itself. It does not matter what part of the world you are in, you who are apart from the world. And if you have missed some of the enjoyments of life, remember that it is the way of business to suffer some losses in order to make larger profits. ... The prison now offers to the Christian what the desert once gave to the Prophets. Our Lord Himself quite often spent time in solitude to pray there more freely, to be there away from the world. In fact, it was in a secluded place that He manifested His glory to His disciples. Let us drop the name ‘prison’ and call it a place of seclusion. Though the body is confined, though the flesh is detained, there is nothing that is not open to the spirit. In spirit wander about, in spirit take a walk, setting before yourselves not shady promenades and long porticoes but that path which leads to God. As often as you walk that path, you will not be in prison. The leg does not feel the fetter when the spirit is in heaven. The spirit carries about the whole man and brings him wherever he wishes. And where your heart is, there will your treasure be also. There, then, let our heart be where we would have our treasure. In like manner, O blessed, consider whatever is hard in your present situation as an exercise of your powers of mind and body. You are about to enter a noble contest in which the living God acts the part of superintendent and the Holy Spirit is your trainer, a contest whose crown is eternity, whose prize is angelic nature, citizenship in heaven and glory for ever and ever. And so your Master, Jesus Christ, who has anointed you with His Spirit and has brought you to this training ground, has resolved, before the day of the contest, to take you from a softer way of life to a harsher treatment that your strength may be increased.... We who are about to win an eternal [crown] recognize in the prison our training ground, that we may be led forth to the actual contest before the seat of the presiding judge well practiced in all hardships, because strength is built up by austerity, but destroyed by softness. ... But let the spirit present to both itself and the flesh the other side of the picture:granted, these sufferings are grievous, yet many have borne them patiently, nay, have even sought them on their own accord for the sake of fame and glory; and this is true not only of men but also of women so that you, too, O blessed women, may be worthy of your sex. . . . [I]‌f earthly glory accruing from strength of body and soul is valued so highly that one despises sword, fire, piercing with nails, wild beasts and tortures for the reward of human praise, then Imay say the sufferings you endure are but trifling in comparison with the heavenly glory and divine reward. If the bead made of glass is rated so highly, how much must the true

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pearl be worth? Who, therefore, does not most gladly spend as much for the true as others spend for the false?

from THE CROWN OF MARTYRDOM “Why do you Christians complain,” you say, “that we persecute you, if you wish to suffer, since you ought to love those by whom you suffer what you wish?” Certainly we wish to suffer, but in the way in which a soldier suffers war. Nobody indeed willingly suffers war, since both panic and danger there must inevitably be faced; but yet the man who just now was complaining about battle fights with all his strength and rejoices when he wins a victory in battle, because he gains both glory and spoil. Our battle is to be summoned before tribunals, where we fight for the truth at the risk of our lives. And our victory is to obtain that for which you strive, a victory which brings with it both the glory of pleasing God and the spoil of eternal life. But, you may say, we are convicted; yes, when we have won the day; we conquer when we are killed, and we escape when we are convicted. You may call us “faggoted” and “axle-men”, because bound to a stake half an axle’s length we are burned amid heaps of faggots; but that is our garb of victory, our chariot of triumph, our garment decked with palm-leaves. Naturally therefore we do not please those whom we have conquered, and so we are regarded as desperate and reckless men. Among you, however, such desperation and recklessness raises the standard of virtue in the cause of glory and renown. Mucius, for example, willingly left his right hand in the altar fire:“Oh loftiness of spirit!” Empedocles freely gave all his body to the flames of Etna for the people of Catana’s sake:“Oh what strength of mind!” The queen who founded Carthage flung herself upon the pyre in accordance with her marriage vow:“ What an encomium for chastity!” Regulus, rather that be the one of all the foemen spared, suffered tortures all over his body:“What a brave man, victorious even in captivity!” Anaxarchus, when he was being crushed to death with a barley pestle, kept saying:“Pound, pound away:it is Anaxarchus’ coating, not Anaxarchus himself, that you are pounding”:“What a magnanimous philosopher who could even joke about such a death as his!” In these cases glory was lawful, because it was human, and no imputation of reckless prejudice or desperate conviction was cast upon them when they despised death and every sort of cruelty. They were allowed for country, for empire, and for friendship to suffer what we are not allowed to suffer for God. For all these you cast statues and write inscriptions on their portraits, and engrave them epitaphs to last for ever. Certainly, as far as records can do it, you yourselves confer a kind of resurrection from God, if he should suffer for God, you deem to be mad. Go on, good governors; the mob will think you all the better if you sacrifice Christians to them; crucify, torture, condemn, destroy us; your injustice is the proof of our innocence. For that reason God allows us to suffer these things. Just recently by condemning a Christian woman to the brothel rather than to the wild beasts, you acknowledged that stain upon chastity is reckoned among us as more dreadful than any punishment and any death. Your cruelties, though each be more

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elaborate that the last, do not profit you; they serve rather as an attraction to our sect. The more you mow us down the greater our numbers become; our blood is the seed from which new Christians spring. Many men among yourselves have written exhortations for the endurance of pain and death; Cicero, for example, in the Tusculans, Seneca in the treatise On Chance, Diogenes, Pyrrho, and Callinicus. But their words do not find as many disciples as the Christians make by their deeds. The very obstinacy, with which you reproach us, is our best teacher. Who is there that is not roused by the sight of it to ask what there is really within it? Who does not join us when once he has asked? Who does not long to suffer, when once he has joined, that he may buy back the whole grace of God and procure all indulgence from Him by the payment of his own blood? To this action all sins are forgiven. Hence it is that even in court we thank you for your verdict. There is an enmity between what is of God and what is of man; and when we are condemned by you we are acquitted by God.

BHAGAVAD-GITA (3rd century) from The Way to Eternal Brahman

The Bhagavad-Gita, perhaps the best-loved of the Hindu religious texts, was probably composed in the 3rd century a.d. and later inserted into the great work of the Hindu epic period, the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata, a poem of some 100,000 verses composed between about 300 b.c. and 300 a.d., is an account of the origins, conduct, and consequences of a great war—said to have taken place in 900 b.c.—between two royal families, the Pandavas (the five sons of Pandu, of whom the third son Arjuna is the central figure) and the Kauravas (their cousins, the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra). Within this long epic, the portion known as the Bhagavad-Gita, or Song of God, opens just before the battle begins, as Arjuna, repulsed by the thought of the carnage the war would involve, decides to lay down his arms. Krishna, his friend and confidant, the god Vishnu in human form, who is serving as his charioteer, is disappointed, and thus begins a debate between the two over whether Arjuna should fight. The Bhagavad-Gita stands as one of the most prominent and authoritative works in Hindu religious literature, and together with the Upanishads [q.v.] and the Brahma-Sutra is regarded as part of the basic trio of essential texts. Despite its primary significance in Indian thought, however, the Gita, like the entire Mahabharata, is not classified as shruti, or divine truth revealed by deity, but is instead considered to be smriti, or inspired teachings that explain or clarify divine truth. Regardless of its classification, the epic has profoundly influenced Hindu political, intellectual, and philosophical life throughout the centuries since its composition.

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The majority of the Bhagavad-Gita consists of the dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna occurring just before the great battle on the plain of Kurukshetra. In the Gita dialogue, Shri Krishna (“Shri” refers to his venerated status) embodies Brahman, or the ultimate reality, and at times, he speaks as God. In the selection presented here, Arjuna inquires about the nature of Brahman, and asks how it is revealed at death to a mortal who unites in consciousness with God. Krishna describes a technique to be used by a yogi at death that allows the person to unite with Brahman and thus to escape the cycle of death and rebirth to which all living things are otherwise subject. This escape, referred to as “the path of no return,” is called Deva Yana in the Upanishads, “the path of the bright ones,” as distinct from Pitri Yana, “the path of the fathers,” which does lead to rebirth. (It should be noted that the “realm of Brahma,” which is also subject to death and rebirth, is not the same as Brahman (the universal, changeless reality), but instead refers to the highest of the worlds of Hindu mythology, in which “Brahma” designates one of the Hindu trinity, with Vishnu and Shiva.) According to yoga technique referred to in this passage, the yogi must employ a special method of leaving his body at death:first, the vital force is drawn up the sushumna, the central spinal passage, and gathered in the brain “between the eyebrows”; the yogi then leaves his body through an aperture in the center of the brain called the sahasrara. The technique Krishna describes thus portrays the yogi as taking a voluntary, deliberate, and partly causal role in his own death.

Source The Song of God: Bhagavad-Gita, VIII:“The Way to Eternal Brahman,” trs. Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, NewYork:New American Library of World Literature, Inc., 1954, pp. 74–78. Also used for quotations in bibliographic note.

from BHAGAVAD-GITA:THE WAY TO

ETERNAL BRAHMAN

ARJUNA:Tell me, Krishna, what Brahman is. What is the Atman, and what is the creative energy of Brahman? Explain the nature of this relative world, and of the individual man. Who is God who presides over action in this body, and how does He dwell here? How are you revealed at the hour of death to those whose consciousness is united with you? SRI KRISHNA:Brahman is that which is immutable, and independent of any cause but Itself. When we consider Brahman as lodged within the individual being, we call Him the Atman. The creative energy of Brahman is that which causes all existences to come into being. The nature of the relative world is mutability. The nature of the individual man is his consciousness of ego. Ialone am God who presides over action, here in this body. At the hour of death, when a man leaves his body, he must depart with his consciousness absorbed in me. Then he will be united with me. Be certain of that. Whatever a man remembers at the last, when he is leaving the body, will be realized by him in the hereafter; because that will be what his mind has most constantly dwelt on, during this life.

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Therefore you must remember me at all times, and do your duty. If your mind and heart are set upon me constantly, you will come to me. Never doubt this. Make a habit of practising meditation, and do not let your mind be distracted. In this way you will come finally to the Lord, who is the light-giver, the highest of thehigh.

He is all-knowing God, lord of the emperors, Ageless, subtler far than mind’s inmost subtlety, Universal sustainer, Shining sunlike, self luminous. What fashion His form has, who shall conceive of it? He dwells beyond delusion, the dark of Maya. On Him let man meditate Always, for then at the last hour Of going hence from his body he will be strong In the strength of this yoga, faithfully followed: The mind is firm, and the heart So full, it hardly holds its love. Thus he will take his leave:and now, with the life-force Indrawn utterly, held fast between the eyebrows, He goes forth to find his Lord, That light-giver, who is greatest. Now Iwill tell you briefly about the nature of Him who is called the deathless by those seers who truly understand the Vedas. Devotees enter into Him when the bonds of their desire are broken. To reach this goal, they practise control of the passions. When a man leaves his body and departs, he must close all the doors of the senses. Let him hold the mind firmly within the shrine of the heart, and fix the life-force between the eyebrows. Then let him take refuge in steady concentration, uttering the sacred syllable OM and meditating upon me. Such a man reaches the highest goal. When a yogi has meditated upon me unceasingly for many years, with an undistracted mind, Iam easy of access to him, because he is always absorbed in me. Great souls who find me have found the highest perfection. They are no longer reborn into this condition of transience and pain. All the worlds, and even the heavenly realm of Brahma, are subject to the laws of rebirth. But for the man who comes to me, there is no returning.

There is day, also, and night in the universe: The wise know this, declaring the day of Brahma A thousand ages in span And the night a thousand ages. Day dawns, and all those lives that lay hidden asleep Come forth and show themselves, mortally manifest: Night falls, and all are dissolved Into the sleeping germ of life.

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Thus they are seen, O Prince, and appear unceasingly, Dissolving with the dark, and with day returning Back to the new birth, new death: All helpless. They do what they must. But behind the manifest and the unmanifest, there is another Existence, which is eternal and changeless. This is not dissolved in the general cosmic dissolution. It has been called the unmanifest, the imperishable. To reach it is said to be the greatest of all achievements. It is my highest state of being. Those who reach It are not reborn. That highest state of being can only be achieved through devotion to Him in whom all creatures exist, and by whom this universe is pervaded.

I show you two paths. Let a yogi choose either When he leaves this body: The path that leads back to birth, The path of no return. There is the path of light, Of fire and day, The path of the moon’s bright fortnight And the six months’ journey Of the sun to the north: The knower of Brahman Who takes this path Goes to Brahman: He does not return. There is the path of night and smoke, The path of the moon’s dark fortnight And the six months’ journey Of the sun to the south: The yogi who takes this path Will reach the lunar light: This path leads back To human birth, at last. These two paths, the bright and the dark, may be said to have existed in this world of change from a time without any beginning. By the one, a man goes to the place of no return. By the other, he comes back to human birth. No yogi who knows these two paths is ever misled. Therefore, Arjuna, you must be steadfast in yoga, always. The scriptures declare that merit can be acquired by studying the Vedas, performing ritualistic sacrifices, practising austerities and giving alms. But the yogi who has understood this teaching of mine will gain more than any who do these things. He will reach that universal source, which is the uttermost abode of God.

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GENESIS RABBAH (compiled 3rd–5th century) Commentary on Genesis 9:5

Because of its age and significance, the expository commentary on the book of Genesis [q.v., under Hebrew Bible] Bereshit Rabbah, commonly known in English as Genesis Rabbah, is considered to be of primary position in the Midrash, a collection of scriptural exegesis and commentary that is part of the larger body of rabbinic literature. The Talmudic literature, including the Mishnah and the Babylonian [q.v.] and Palestinian Talmuds, along with the midrashic commentaries like Genesis Rabbah, forms the primary written authority for Jewish civil and religious law. The midrashic writings of the rabbinic literature are a collection of biblical exegesis divisible into two main categories:the Midrash Aggadah, or exegesis with a didactic or edifying purpose, and the Midrash Halakha, or exegesis with the purpose of establishing law. The word “midrash” means “to study” or “to investigate,” and it is used to signal works of expository exegesis, either didactic or legal, from different periods of time. The midrash Genesis Rabbah is attributed by tradition to the rabbinic teacher R.Hoshaiah, who lived in Palestine during the 3rd century a.d. However, there is evidence of numerous later additions to the work, and it is probable that the text was not fixed for several centuries after its original composition. Genesis Rabbah is of primary importance in the midrashim, and the biblical commentary it includes has exerted a significant influence on subsequent exegesis and Jewish law. In Genesis Rabbah, the text of Genesis is explicated in an unbroken sequence, verse by verse, except for the genealogies and a few repetitious passages, which are omitted. The commentary on Genesis 9:5 presented here—just a few short sentences—is of signal importance in Jewish theology and law because it “creatively,” as Noam Zohar puts it, finds in this passage the basis for the prohibition of suicide. The commentary defines suicide as a form of murder. However, the fact that the verse is prefaced by “but” or “yet”(omitted in most translations) is taken, following midrashic practice, to signify that the prohibition may also allow for exceptions applies, as in cases like that of Saul, who first asked his armor-bearer to kill him and then fell on his sword to avoid capture and torture by the Philistines, and in cases like those of Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah (often called by their foreign names, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego) in the Book of Daniel, where they choose to die in the fiery furnace rather than worship Nebuchadnezzar’s idol. No explicit reason is given for such exceptions, though the distinction may refer to the motive for choosing death, rather than the causal manner of bringing it about. Nevertheless, the passage has been of signal importance in Jewish thought, serving to differentiate martyrs from suicides; whether martyrs may actively kill themselves would later be hotly debated in medieval Judaism.

Source Genesis Rabbah, tr. Baruch Brody. Material in introduction from Noam Zohar and Daniel J.H. Greenwood.

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COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 9:5 This [prohibition of murder (in Genesis 9:5, “but for your life-blood I shall demand satisfaction,”)] includes the person who strangles himself. I might think it applies in a case like that of Saul. The verse says “but.” I might think that it applies in a case like that of Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah. The verse says “but.”

PLOTINUS (204–270) from The Enneads

On Happiness On the Primal Good and Secondary Forms of Good ‘The Reasoned Dismissal’

Plotinus, the founder and principal exponent of the philosophical school known as Neoplatonism, was born in Egypt; it is not clear whether he was Greek, Roman, or a Hellenized Egyptian. He had a Greek education. He studied for 11years with the philosopher Ammonius Saccas at Alexandria, and went on the expedition of the Roman emperor Gordian III against Persia in 242–244 in order to learn something about the philosophies of the Persians and Indians, though the expedition failed, Gordian was killed, and Plotinus escaped only with difficulty. Plotinus moved to Rome in 244 and, at the center of an influential circle of intellectuals, lectured on the thought of Plato and the Pythagorean school, as well as on the virtue of asceticism. Plotinus’ works were collected and edited by his student, Porphyry, and exist today in an arrangement of six groupings, each having nine books, called the Enneads. In his last years, Plotinus suffered from an apparently painful and repulsive disease that kept his friends away from him (now assumed to be tuberculosis or, more likely, leprosy), and died at his country estate with his physician Eustochius at his side. Plotinus created a system of thought based on Plato’s dualism between material object and Form or Idea, dividing Plato’s realm of intelligibles into three:the One, Intelligence, and the Soul. For Plotinus, God’s power emanates through pure Intelligence to the world of matter; human beings occupy a unique place between the world of Ideas or Intelligence and the world of matter or sensation, belonging to both realms. However, human beings have the potential to relinquish matter and to achieve a union of Soul or Intelligence with God. Given these notions, Plotinus concludes that death is not an evil but actually a good. But this view raises an issue that confronted both Plato and the early Christians:If matter, body, and worldly things are inferior and/

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or painful and death is a desired good, then why not hasten the realization of this good through suicide? Plotinus argues against suicide; the “Proficient,” (i.e., the person who has mastered true philosophy) has learned not to attend to either positive or painful circumstances and will not commit suicide, an act motivated by passion, except perhaps if he feels he is losing his reason, and then only under “stern necessity.”

Source Plotinus, Enneads, Book I, Tractate 4.8, 4.14; Tractate 7.3; Tractate 9, tr. Stephen MacKenna, NewYork:Pantheon Books, printed in Great Britain by Oxford University Press, 1954, pp. 47, 50–51, 66, 78–79. Available online at http://www.ccel.org from the Christian Classic Ethereal Library.

from ENNEADS Book I, Fourth Tractate:On Happiness As for violent personal sufferings, he [the Proficient] will carry them off as well as he can; if they overpass his endurance they will carry him off. And so in all his pain he asks no pity:there is always the radiance in the inner soul of the man, untroubled like the light in a lantern when fierce gusts beat about it in a wild turmoil of wind and tempest. But what if he be put beyond himself? What if pain grow so intense and so torture him that the agony all but kills? Well, when he is put to torture he will plan what is to be done:he retains his freedom of action. Besides we must remember that the Proficient sees things very differently from the average man; neither ordinary experiences nor pains and sorrows, whether touching himself or others, pierce to the inner hold. To allow them any such passage would be a weakness in our soul. And it is a sign of weakness, too, if we should think it gain not to hear of miseries, gain to die before they come:this is not concern for others’ welfare but for our own peace of mind. Here we see our imperfection:we must not indulge it, we must put it from us and cease to tremble over what perhaps may be. Anyone that says that it is in human nature to grieve over misfortune to our household must learn that this is not so with all, and that, precisely, it is virtue’s use to raise the general level of nature towards the better and finer, above the mass of men. And the finer is to set at nought what terrifies the common mind. We cannot be indolent: this is an arena for the powerful combatant holding his ground against the blows of fortune, and knowing that, sore though they be to some natures, they are little to his, nothing dreadful, nursery terrors. So, the Proficient would have desired misfortune? It is precisely to meet the undesired when it appears that he has the virtue which gives him, to confront it, his passionless and unshakeable soul.

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For man, and especially the Proficient, is not the Couplement of Soul and body:the proof is that man can be disengaged from the body and disdain its nominal goods. It would be absurd to think that happiness begins and ends with the living-body:happiness is the possession of the good of life:it is centered therefore in Soul, is an Act of the Soul—and not of all the Soul at that:for it certainly is not characteristic of the vegetative soul, the soul of growth; that would at once connect it with the body. A powerful frame, a healthy constitution, even a happy balance of temperament, these surely do not make felicity; in the excess of these advantages there is, even, the danger that the man be crushed down and forced more and more within their power. There must be a sort of counter-pressure in the other direction, towards the noblest:the body must be lessened, reduced, that the veritable man may show forth, the man behind the appearances. Let the earth-bound man be handsome and powerful and rich, and so apt to this world that he may rule the entire human race:still there can be no envying him, the fool of such lures. Perhaps such splendours could not, from the beginning even, have gathered to the Proficient; but if it should happen so, he of his own action will lower his state, if he has any care for his true life; the tyranny of the body he will work down or wear away by inattention to its claims; the rulership he will lay aside. While he will safeguard his bodily health, he will not wish to be wholly untried in sickness, still less never to feel pain:if such troubles should not come to him of themselves, he will wish to know them, during youth at least:in old age, it is true, he will desire neither pains nor pleasures to hamper him; he will desire nothing of this world, pleasant or painful; his one desire will be to know nothing of the body. If he should meet with pain he will pit against it the powers he holds to meet it; but pleasure and health and ease of life will not mean any increase of happiness to him nor will their contraries destroy or lessen it. When in the one subject a positive can add nothing, how can the negative take away?

Book I, Seventh Tractate:On the Primal Good and Secondary Forms of Good Life is a partnership of a Soul and body; death is the dissolution; in either life or death, then, the Soul will feel itself at home. But, again, if life is good, how can death be anything but evil? Remember that the good of life, where it has any good at all, is not due to anything in the partnership but to the repelling of evil by virtue; death, then, must be the greater good. In a word, life in the body is of itself an evil but the Soul enters its Good through Virtue, not living the life of the Couplement but holding itself apart, even here.

Book I, Ninth Tractate:‘The Reasoned Dismissal’ ‘You will not dismiss your Soul lest it go forth taking something with it.’ Your dismissal will ensure that it must go forth taking something (corporeal) with it, and its going forth is to some new place. The Soul will wait for the body to be completely severed from it; then it makes no departure; it simply finds itself free. But how does the body come to be separated?

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The separation takes place when nothing of Soul remains bound up with it:the harmony within the body, by virtue of which the Soul was retained, is broken and it can no longer hold its guest. But when a man contrives the dissolution of the body, it is he that has used violence and torn himself away, not the body that has let the Soul slip from it. And in loosing the bond he has not been without passion; there has been revolt or grief or anger, movements which it is unlawful to indulge. But if a man feel himself to be losing his reason? That is not likely in the Proficient, but if it should occur, it must be classed with the inevitable, to be welcome at the bidding of the fact though not for its own sake. To call upon drugs to the release of the Soul seems a strange way of assisting its purposes. And if there be a period allotted to all by fate, to anticipate the hour could not be a happy act, unless, as we have indicated, under stern necessity. If everyone is to hold in the other world a standing determined by the state in which he quitted this, there must be no withdrawal as long as there is any hope of progress.

LACTANTIUS (c. 240–c. 320) from The Divine Institutes

Born sometime between 230 and 260 in proconsular North Africa to a non-Christian family who lived at Carthage, Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius became a rhetorician and professor of oratory in Nicomedia, in northwest Asia Minor. Known for his Latin prose style, he was sometimes called the “Christian Cicero” by Renaissance scholars. He had been appointed (c. 290)to his professorship at Nicomedia by the Roman emperor Diocletian, but when Diocletian began to initiate what came to be known as the Great Persecution, Lactantius, who had converted to Christianity by this time, resigned his professorship (c. 305)and began to write defenses of Christian theology for both Christians and non-Christian academics. He sought to refute polytheism and to show the falsity of pagan philosophy while demonstrating the truth of Christian tenets. After Constantine became emperor, he lifted Lactantius out of poverty and invited him to Trier to tutor his son, Crispus. In The Divine Institutes (303–310), the first systematic summary in Latin of Christian teaching, Lactantius attacks Greek and Roman views of suicide. He addresses Plato’s view of the immortality of the soul and Cicero’s view that death will be better than life, or at least no worse. Lactantius replies, on the contrary, that death cannot be assumed to be good, but relative to a good or bad life lived. Lactantius also claims that the venerated Stoic examples of suicide, including such notable instances as that of Cato, were actually homicide victims of Stoic philosophy. Lactantius derides what he sees as an erroneous pagan “balance-sheet” mentality weighing pleasure against pain. Lactantius is the first writer in the Christian tradition to argue, as he does in this work, that killing oneself is worse than killing another person, a view that gains considerable currency in later Christian thought.

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The dates of Lactantius’ life are not known. Estimates of his lifespan generally range between the years 240 and 330.

Sources Lactantius, The Divine Institutes, Book III, from chs. 18–19, tr. Rev. William Fletcher, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 7, Buffalo, 1886; NewYork, 1899–1900. Available online at www.ccel.org from the Christian Classic Ethereal Library.

from THE DIVINE INSTITUTES The Pythagoreans and Stoics, While They Hold the Immortality of the Soul, Foolishly Persuade a Voluntary Death Others, again, discuss things contrary to these, namely, that the soul survives after death; and these are chiefly the Pythagoreans and Stoics. And although they are to be treated with indulgence because they perceive the truth, yet Icannot but blame them, because they fell upon the truth not by their opinion, but by accident. And thus they erred in some degree even in that very matter which they rightly perceived. For, since they feared the argument by which it is inferred that the soul must necessarily die with the body, because it is born with the body, they asserted that the soul is not born with the body, but rather introduced into it, and that it migrates from one body to another. They did not consider that it was possible for the soul to survive the body, unless it should appear to have existed previously to the body. There is therefore an equal and almost similar error on each side. But the one side are deceived with respect to the past, the other with respect to the future. For no one saw that which is most true, that the soul is both created and does not die, because they were ignorant why that came to pass, or what was the nature of man. Many therefore of them, because they suspected that the soul is immortal, laid violent hands upon themselves, as though they were about to depart to heaven. Thus it was with Cleanthes and Chrysippus, with Zeno, and Empedocles, who in the dead of night cast himself into a cavity of the burning Ætna, that when he had suddenly disappeared it might be believed that he had departed to the gods; and thus also of the Romans Cato died, who through the whole of his life was an imitator of Socratic ostentation. For Democritus was of another persuasion. But, however, “By his own spontaneous act he offered up his head to death”; and nothing can be more wicked than this. For if a homicide is guilty because he is a destroyer of man, he who puts himself to death is under the same guilt, because he puts to death a man. Yea, that crime may be considered to be greater, the punishment of which belongs to God alone. For as we did not come into this life of our own accord; so, on the other hand, we can only withdraw from this habitation of the body which has been appointed for us to keep, by the command of Him who placed us in this body that we may inhabit it, until He orders us to depart from it; and if any violence is offered to us, we must endure it with equanimity, since the death of an innocent person cannot be unavenged, and since we have a great Judge who alone always has the power of taking vengeance in His hands.

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All these philosophers, therefore, were homicides; and Cato himself, the chief of Roman wisdom, who, before he put himself to death, is said to have read through the treatise of Plato which he wrote on the immortality of the soul, and was led by the authority of the philosopher to the commission of this great crime; yet he, however, appears to have had some cause for death in his hatred of slavery. Why should Ispeak of the Ambraciot [Theombrotus] who, having read the same treatise, threw himself into the sea, for no other cause than that he believed Plato?—a doctrine altogether detestable and to be avoided, if it drives men from life. But if Plato had known and taught by whom, and how, and to whom, and on account of what actions, and at what time, immortality is given, he would neither have driven Cleombrotus [Theombrotus] nor Cato to a voluntary death, but he would have trained them to live with justice. For it appears to me that Cato sought a cause for death, not so much that he might escape from Cæsar, as that he might obey the decrees of the Stoics, whom he followed, and might make his name distinguished by some great action; and Ido not see what evil could have happened to him if he had lived. For Caius Cæsar, such was his clemency, had no other object, even in the very heat of civil war, than to appear to deserve well of the state, by preserving two excellent citizens, Cicero and Cato. But let us return to those who praise death as a benefit. You complain of life as though you had lived, or had ever settled with yourself why you were born at all. May not therefore the true and common Father of all justly find fault with that saying of Terence:— “First, learn in what life consists; then, if you shall be dissatisfied with life, have recourse to death.”

You are indignant that you are exposed to evils; as though you deserved anything good, who are ignorant of your Father, Lord, and King; who, although you behold with your eyes the bright light, are nevertheless blind in mind, and lie in the depths of the darkness of.... . . . [T]‌hose who assert the advantage of death, because they know nothing of the truth, thus reason: If there is nothing after death, death is not an evil; for it takes away the perception of evil. But if the soul survives, death is even an advantage; because immortality follows. And this sentiment is thus set forth by Cicero concerning the Laws: “We may congratulate ourselves, since death is about to bring either a better state than that which exists in life, or at any rate not a worse. For if the soul is in a state of vigour without the body, it is a divine life; and if it is without perception, assuredly there is no evil.” Cleverly argued, as it appeared to himself, as though there could be no other state. But each conclusion is false. For the sacred writings teach that the soul is not annihilated; but that it is either rewarded according to its righteousness, or eternally punished according to its crimes. For neither is it right, that he who has lived a life of wickedness in prosperity should escape the punishment which he deserves; nor that he who has been wretched on account of his righteousness, should be deprived of his reward. And this is so true, that Tully also, in his Consolation, declared that the righteous and the wicked do not inhabit the same abodes. For those same wise men, he says, did not judge that the same course was open for all into the heaven; for they taught that those who were contaminated by vices and crimes were thrust down into darkness, and lay in the mire; but that, on the other hand, souls that were chaste, pure, upright, and uncontaminated, being also refined by the study and practice of virtue, by a light and easy course take their flight to the gods, that is, to a nature resembling their own.

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But this sentiment is opposed to the former argument. For that is based on the assumption that every man at his birth is presented with immortality. What distinction, therefore, will there be between virtue and guilt, if it makes no difference whether a man be Aristides or Phalaris, whether he be Cato or Catiline? But a man does not perceive this opposition between sentiments and actions, unless he is in possession of the truth. If any one, therefore, should ask me whether death is a good or an evil, I shall reply that its character depends upon the course of the life. For as life itself is a good if it is passed virtuously, but an evil if it is spent viciously, so also death is to be weighed in accordance with the past actions of life. And so it comes to pass, that if life has been passed in the service of God, death is not an evil, for it is a translation to immortality. But if not so, death must necessarily be an evil, since it transfers men, as I have said, to everlasting punishment. . . . ... What, then, shall we say, but that they are in error who either desire death as a good, or flee from life as an evil? unless they are most unjust, who do not weigh the fewer evils against the greater number of blessings. For when they pass all their lives in a variety of the choicest gratifications, if any bitterness has chanced to succeed to these, they desire to die; and they so regard it as to appear never to have fared well, if at any time they happen to fare ill. Therefore they condemn the whole of life, and consider it as nothing else than filled with evils. Hence arose that foolish sentiment, that this state which we imagine to be life is death, and that that which we fear as death is life; and so that the first good is not to be born, that the second is an early death....

EUSEBIUS (c. 260–339) from Ecclesiastical History

Eusebius, referred to as Eusebius of Caesarea, was the first and most prominent historian of early Christianity. He lived most of his life in Caesarea Maritima. He was also known as Eusebius Pamphili, taking the surname from his friend and mentor Pamphilus of Caesarea, whose expansive library—founded by Origen—provided Eusebius with historical records for his later works. Eusebius fled to the Egyptian desert following the martyrdom of Pamphilus during the persecutions under Diocletian, but was arrested and imprisoned. After his release, Eusebius became bishop of Caesarea, around 313 or 314. As a supporter of Arius and the leader of the Origenist Semi-Arians, the middle party in the Arian conflict over the theological issue of whether belief in Christ as being fully God could be reconciled with strict monotheism, Eusebius held that the nature of the Trinity could not be rationally understood. He was excommunicated by the synod of Antioch for this view; however, he was later exonerated by the emperor Constantine I. Eusebius played a role in the council of Nicaea in 325, where he tried to reconcile the opposing parties while repudiating extreme Arianism.

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Appointed under Constantine as court historian, Eusebius wrote both religious and secular histories, as well as several Christian apologies. He was an immensely prolific writer, although his treatments of some issues are inadequate and his historical accounts are often selective and difficult to distinguish from apologetics; some have denounced him as dishonest, though his works are nevertheless of great value, preserving in excerpts many sources that would have otherwise been lost. Eusebius was the author of the Chronicon, a history of the world from the famous peoples of antiquity to the year 303 (later continued to 325), and the Historia Ecclesiastica, a history of the Church from its beginning up to the year 324, as well as many apologetic, exegetical, and dogmatic works. The Ecclesiastical History is the first major attempt to explain the relationship of Christianity and the Roman Empire; its approach in describing the development of the church is primarily historical, and it has been described as both a political theology and a theology of history. In Book 2 of the Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius narrates the suicide of a woman of Antioch— by legend, St. Pelagia—and her two daughters who, to avoid sexual violation by the Roman soldiers guarding them, ended their lives by throwing themselves into a river. This account occurs among reports of other martyrs who endured extraordinary suffering without resorting to suicide and, as does the more celebratory account of the self-drowning of Pelagia later given by Ambrose [q.v.], implicitly recognizes the challenges in distinguishing between suicide and genuine martyrdom among Christians who did kill themselves to avoid violence.

Sources The Church History of Eusebius, Book 8, ch. 12, tr. Rev. Arthur Cushman McGiffert. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Philip Schaff, ed., NewYork:Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890, Vol. I:Eusebius Pamphilus. Available online at www.ccel.org from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

from ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY Many Others, Both Men and Women, Who Suffered in Various Ways Why need we mention the rest by name, or number the multitude of the men, or picture the various sufferings of the admirable martyrs of Christ? Some of them were slain with the axe, as in Arabia. The limbs of some were broken, as in Cappadocia. Some, raised on high by the feet, with their heads down, while a gentle fire burned beneath them, were suffocated by the smoke which arose from the burning wood, as was done in Mesopotamia. Others were mutilated by cutting off their noses and ears and hands, and cutting to pieces the other members and parts of their bodies, as in Alexandria. Why need we revive the recollection of those in Antioch who were roasted on grates, not so as to kill them, but so as to subject them to a lingering punishment? Or of others who preferred to thrust their right hand into the fire rather than touch the impious sacrifice? Some, shrinking from the trial, rather than be taken and fall into the hands of their enemies, threw themselves from lofty houses, considering death preferable to the cruelty of the impious.

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A certain holy person,—in soul admirable for virtue, in body a woman,—who was illustrious beyond all in Antioch for wealth and family and reputation, had brought up in the principles of religion her two daughters, who were now in the freshness and bloom of life. Since great envy was excited on their account, every means was used to find them in their concealment; and when it was ascertained that they were away, they were summoned deceitfully to Antioch. Thus they were caught in the nets of the soldiers. When the woman saw herself and her daughters thus helpless, and knew the things terrible to speak of that men would do to them,—and the most unbearable of all terrible things, the threatened violation of their chastity,—she exhorted herself and the maidens that they ought not to submit even to hear of this. For, she said, that to surrender their souls to the slavery of demons was worse than all deaths and destruction; and she set before them the only deliverance from all these things,—escape to Christ. They then listened to her advice. And after arranging their garments suitably, they went aside from the middle of the road, having requested of the guards a little time for retirement, and cast themselves into a river which was flowing by. Thus they destroyed themselves. But there were two other virgins in the same city of Antioch who served God in all things, and were true sisters, illustrious in family and distinguished in life, young and blooming, serious in mind, pious in deportment, and admirable for zeal. As if the earth could not bear such excellence, the worshipers of demons commanded to cast them into the sea. And this was done to them. In Pontus, others endured sufferings horrible to hear. Their fingers were pierced with sharp reeds under their nails. Melted lead, bubbling and boiling with the heat, was poured down the backs of others, and they were roasted in the most sensitive parts of the body. Others endured on their bowels and privy members shameful and inhuman and unmentionable torments, which the noble and law-observing judges, to show their severity, devised, as more honorable manifestations of wisdom. And new tortures were continually invented, as if they were endeavoring, by surpassing one another, to gain prizes in a contest. But at the close of these calamities, when finally they could contrive no greater cruelties, and were weary of putting to death, and were filled and satiated with the shedding of blood, they turned to what they considered merciful and humane treatment, so that they seemed to be no longer devising terrible things against us. For they said that it was not fitting that the cities should be polluted with the blood of their own people, or that the government of their rulers, which was kind and mild toward all, should be defamed through excessive cruelty; but that rather the beneficence of the humane and royal authority should be extended to all, and we should no longer be put to death. For the infliction of this punishment upon us should be stopped in consequence of the humanity of the rulers. Therefore it was commanded that our eyes should be put out, and that we should be maimed in one of our limbs. For such things were humane in their sight, and the lightest of punishments for us. So that now on account of this kindly treatment accorded us by the impious, it was impossible to tell the incalculable number of those whose right eyes had first been cut out with the sword, and then had been cauterized with fire; or who had been disabled in the left foot by burning the joints, and afterward condemned to the provincial copper mines, not so much for service as for distress and hardship. Besides all these, others

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encountered other trials, which it is impossible to recount; for their manly endurance surpasses all description. In these conflicts the noble martyrs of Christ shone illustrious over the entire world, and everywhere astonished those who beheld their manliness; and the evidences of the truly divine and unspeakable power of our Saviour were made manifest through them. To mention each by name would be a long task, if not indeed impossible.

AMBROSE (337/340–397) from Of Virgins:Letter to Marcellina

Born in the city of Trier (modern Germany), Ambrose of Milan became a noted theologian, biblical critic, and hymnist, later canonized as a saint and considered the father of liturgical music. He is also known as the spiritual teacher who converted and baptized Augustine of Hippo [q.v.]. Ambrose’s father, the praetorian prefect of Gaul, died soon after Ambrose’s birth, and he was taken by his mother to Rome, where he was educated in rhetoric, classical literature, and in Stoic thought. Ambrose entered politics and in about 370, he became governor of Aemilia-Liguria, a province in northern Italy. Four years later, Ambrose was unexpectedly acclaimed bishop of Milan by the people—he received baptism and was consecrated bishop one week later. He served as bishop for 23years until his death in 397. As bishop, Ambrose was committed to establishing orthodox Christian doctrine, defining Church authority, and disestablishing pagan state religion. When in 388 a local bishop instigated a mob that burned and looted a synagogue at Callinicum in Syria, Ambrose held, against the emperor Theodosius’s order that the bishop rebuild it, that it would be apostasy for the bishop to rebuild a place of worship for the enemies of Christ and that religious interests should prevail over the maintenance of civil law; after a stadium massacre in Thessalonica engineered by Theodosius, Ambrose threatened to excommunicate the emperor, though he later became Theodosius’ ally in the Church. Ambrose was extremely influential in forming Christian discussion of church-state relations. As a Christian intellectual, he was also influential in integrating faith and reason within church theology, and was an important figure in the Arian controversy. His principal works include “On Faith” (380), a defense of orthodoxy against Arianism; “On the Duties of the Clergy” (386), a treatment of Christian ethical obligations; numerous Biblical commentaries, including Hexaemaeron (“On the Six Days of Creation”); “On the Goodness of Death”; and sermons and hymns, including Aeterne rerum Conditor (“Framer of the earth and sky”) and Deus Creator omnium (“Maker of all things, God most high”). The following selection from Ambrose’s Of Virgins is a letter to his elder sister Marcellina. In 353, on the feast of the Epiphany, in the presence of the Pope, Marcellina had dedicated her virginity to God and vowed to live an ascetic life; she and her mother formed the core of one of the first groups of patrician women in Rome who renounced the world for their Christian

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beliefs. As virginity became increasingly celebrated, the issue of whether a virgin might kill herself to escape sexual violation had become an increasingly controversial matter. The view that rape was the worst thing that could befall a Christian woman had become widespread; for Christians, as Tertullian [q.v.] had put it, “... a stain upon chastity is reckoned among us as more dreadful than any punishment and any death.” Eusebius [q.v.] had narrated the story of the woman of Antioch and her two daughters who had drowned themselves in the river to avoid rape; his implicit evaluation of the incident is equivocal. Here, Ambrose relates with similar imagery the story of the 15-year-old Pelagia, later venerated as a saint, who together with her mother and sisters also seek death by drowning rather than be raped. Ambrose, clearly regarding them as virtuous rather than sinful, interprets these suicides as a form of martyrdom to be revered.

Source St. Ambrose, “Concerning Virgins,” Book III, ch. 7:32-39. From A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, eds. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, Grand Rapids, MI:Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1955, Vol. 10, pp. 386–387. Available online at www.ccel.org from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

from OF VIRGINS:LETTER TO

MARCELLINA

As Iam drawing near the close of my address, you [Marcellina] make a good suggestion, holy sister, that Ishould touch upon what we ought to think of the merits of those who have cast themselves down from a height, or have drowned themselves in a river, lest they should fall into the hands of persecutors, seeing that holy Scripture forbids a Christian to lay hands on himself. And indeed as regard; virgins placed in the necessity of preserving their purity, we have a plain answer, seeing that there exists an instance of martyrdom. Saint Pelagia lived formerly at Antioch, being about fifteen years old, a sister of virgins, and a virgin herself. She shut herself up at home at the first sound of persecution, seeing herself surrounded by those who would rob her of her faith and purity, in the absence of her mother and sisters, without any defence, but all the more filled with God. “What are we to do, unless,” says she to herself, “thou, a captive of virginity, takest thought? Iboth wish and fear to die, for Imeet not death but seek it. Let us die if we are allowed, or if they will not allow it, still let us die. God is not offended by a remedy against evil, and faith permits the act. In truth, if we think of the real meaning of the word, how can what is voluntary be violence? It is rather violence to wish to die and not to be able. And we do not fear any difficulty. For who is there who wishes to die and is not able to do so, when there are so many easy ways to death? For Ican now rush upon the sacrilegious altars and overthrow them, and quench with my blood the kindled fires. Iam not afraid that my right hand may fail to deliver the blow, or that my breast may shrink from the pain. Ishall leave no sin to my flesh. Ifear not that a sword will

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be wanting. Ican die by my own weapons, Ican die without the help of an executioner, in my mother’s bosom.” She is said to have adorned her head, and to have put on a bridal dress, so that one would say that she was going to a bridegroom, not to death. But when the hateful persecutors saw that they had lost the prey of her chastity, they began to seek her mother and sisters. But they, by a spiritual flight, already held the field of chastity, when, as on the one side, persecutors suddenly threatened them, and on the other, escape was shut off by an impetuous river, they said, what do we fear? See the water, what hinders us from being baptized? And this is the baptism whereby sins are forgiven, and kingdoms are sought. This is a baptism after which no one sins. Let the water receive us, which is wont to regenerate. Let the water receive us, which makes virgins. Let the water receive us, which opens heaven, protects the weak, hides death, makes martyrs. We pray Thee, God, Creator of all things, let not the water scatter our bodies, deprived of the breath of life; let not death separate our obsequies, whose lives affection has always conjoined; but let our constancy be one, our death one, and our burial also be one. Having said these words, and having slightly girded up the bosom of their dress, to veil their modesty without impeding their steps, joining hands as though to lead a dance, they went forward to the middle of the river bed, directing their steps to where the stream was more violent, and the depth more abrupt. No one drew back, no one ceased to go on, no one tried where to place her steps, they were anxious only when they felt the ground, grieved when the water was shallow, and glad when it was deep. One could see the pious mother tightening her grasp, rejoicing in her pledges, afraid of a fall lest even the stream should carry off her daughters from her. “These victims, O Christ,” said she, “do Ioffer as leaders of chastity, guides on my journey, and companions of my sufferings.” But who would have cause to wonder that they had such constancy whilst alive, seeing that even when dead they preserved the position of their bodies unmoved? The water did not lay bare their corpses, nor did the rapid course of the river roll them along. Moreover, the holy mother, though without sensation, still maintained her loving grasp, and held the sacred knot which she had tied, and loosed not her hold in death, that she who had paid her debt to religion might die leaving her piety as her heir. For those whom she had joined together with herself for martyrdom, she claimed even to the tomb. But why use instances of people of another race to you, my sister, whom the inspiration of hereditary chastity has taught by descent from a martyred ancestor? For whence have you learnt who had no one from whom to learn, living in the country, with no virgin companion, instructed by no teacher? You have played the part then not of a disciple, for this cannot be done without teaching, but of an heir of virtue. For how could it come to pass that holy Sotheris should not have been the originator of your purpose, who is an ancestor of your race? Who, in an age of persecution, borne to the heights of suffering by the insults of slaves, gave to the executioner even her face, which is usually free from injury when the whole body is tortured, and rather beholds than suffers torments; so brave and patient that when she offered her tender cheeks to punishment, the executioner failed in striking before the martyr yielded under the injuries. She moved not her face, she turned not away her countenance, she uttered not a groan or a tear. Lastly, when she had overcome other kinds of punishment, she found the sword which she desired.

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AUGUSTINE (354–430) from The City of God (expanded in Archive) from On Free Choice of the Will (expanded in Archive)

Born to a small landholder, Patricius, and a pious Christian, Monica, in the small town of Thagaste in the Roman province of Numidia (modern Souk-Ahras, Algeria), Augustine of Hippo was of profound influence on the history of Western thought. Augustine studied rhetoric and classical philosophy at Carthage and was initially attracted to the dualistic religious philosophy of Manichaeanism. By the time he was 19, in 373, his mistress had borne him a son, Adeodatus. In 383, Augustine traveled to Rome where he was unsuccessful in establishing a school. He then moved to teach rhetoric in Milan for two years, where he met the bishop Ambrose and the community around him of Christian Neoplatonists. Augustine found within Christianity’s teachings satisfactory answers to questions about the being of God and the nature of evil, but—torn by his desires and the demands of chastity as a Christian sexual virtue—he did not undergo full conversion until 386. Ambrose baptized him, together with his son Adeodatus, on the night of Holy Saturday, before Easter of 387. After Adeodatus’s death, Augustine was ordained a presbyter of Hippo in 391; five years later, he became bishop of Hippo, and continued in that position until his death in 430, during the third month of the Vandals’ siege of Hippo. Augustine’s principal works include the Confessions (397–400), an autobiographical account of his spiritual struggles and conversion to Christianity, and The City of God (413–426), a Christian vision of history. He also wrote many tracts against the Manichaeans, the Donatists, and the Pelagians. In his writings, Augustine addresses many issues, including original sin, grace, revelation, creation ex nihilo, the nature of time, divine foreknowledge, and predestination, and develops the idea of the church as a community of believers, just and predestined for immortality. In The City of God, Augustine addresses the issue of suicide more directly and comprehensively than any previous writer in the Christian tradition. The full title of the work is Twenty-Four Books of the City of God Against the Pagans; within the framework of its more general effort to counter the accusation that it was Christianity that had led to the fall of Rome to the Ostrogoths in 410, the work also attacks the Roman—especially Stoic—conception of suicide as a matter of heroism and virtue, whether committed for political reasons, to protect chastity, or to avoid personal difficulties. Though antecedents of some of his views may be detected in earlier writers, Augustine’s overall treatment of the issues in suicide is strikingly original. With respect to the issue of whether a virgin threatened with sexual violation may kill herself to avoid it—the dispute already addressed by Eusebius [q.v.], Ambrose [q.v.], and other earlier writers—Augustine defuses the issue by asserting that sexual violation affects the body only, not the soul, and is a matter of the purity or impurity of the victim’s intentions rather than material, physical fact; this position remains definitive for the Christian tradition thereafter. Augustine’s treatment of Biblical suicides like Samson and Saul [q.v., under Hebrew Bible] is also novel; it relies on a

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divine-command theory in assessing the ethics of suicide and holds that only those suicides directly commanded by God are permissible. Not all later writers accept Augustine’s argument that in the cases of Samson and Saul, there must have been a “special commission” from God, but Augustine’s treatment of them has been widely influential. Also significant in Augustine’s treatment of suicide is his “two-person” model, evoked by many later writers and associated with what contemporary writers now identify as the ambivalence of suicide:one part of a person or of a person’s psyche—in Augustine’s view, the guilty, murderous part—kills the other part of that same person, the (as he says of Lucretia [q.v., under Livy]) “guiltless, chaste, coerced part.” Finally, in the last portion of the selection provided here, Augustine addresses what some later thinkers have argued is the deepest issue about suicide for the Christian tradition as a whole, the tension between the promise of a personal afterlife and the wrongness of seeking death to achieve it. If Christian belief promises a heavenly afterlife for those without sin, but one is always at risk of sin while in the body in this life, why wouldn’t the believer commit suicide to reach that afterlife, just after confessing, repenting, and receiving absolution for all previous sins? Augustine’s reply to this question becomes definitive for virtually the entire remainder of the Christian tradition:suicide is a worse sin than any that can be avoided by it. It cannot be, so to speak, as later thinkers might call it, a shortcut to heaven. In On Free Choice of the Will, Augustine considers a number of skeptical objections to the notion that life is a good:for example, that someone might wish not to exist because he is unhappy or because he fears the afterlife. Augustine interprets suicidal thinking as the desire for respite or peace, and asserts that the suicide thinks of himself as not existing after death—and so is clearly in error. The desire for respite is quite natural, but it leads to a conceptual mistake. To be at peace, whatever one’s sufferings have been, one must exist.

Sources Augustine, The City of God, Book I, ch. 17–27, tr. Rev. Marcus Dods. From A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, ed. Philip Schaff, Vol. II:St. Augustine’s City of God and Christian Doctrine, Edinburgh:T & T Clark, n.d. Available online at www.ccel.org from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. On Free Choice of the Will, tr. Thomas Williams, Book III, sections 6–8, Indianapolis and Cambridge:Hackett, 1993, pp. 83–87.

from THE CITY OF GOD Of Suicide Committed Through Fear of Punishment or Dishonor And consequently, even if some of these virgins killed themselves to avoid such disgrace, who that has any human feeling would refuse to forgive them? And as for those who would not put an end to their lives, lest they might seem to escape the crime of another by a sin of their own, he who lays this to their charge as a great wickedness is himself not guiltless of the fault of folly. For if it is not lawful to take the law into our own hands, and slay even a guilty person, whose death no public sentence has warranted, then certainly he who kills himself is a homicide, and so much the guiltier of his own death, as he was more innocent of that offence for which he

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doomed himself to die. Do we justly execrate the deed of Judas, and does truth itself pronounce that by hanging himself he rather aggravated than expiated the guilt of that most iniquitous betrayal, since, by despairing of God’s mercy in his sorrow that wrought death, he left to himself no place for a healing penitence? How much more ought he to abstain from laying violent hands on himself who has done nothing worthy of such a punishment! For Judas, when he killed himself, killed a wicked man; but he passed from this life chargeable not only with the death of Christ, but with his own:for though he killed himself on account of his crime, his killing himself was another crime. Why, then, should a man who has done no ill do ill to himself, and by killing himself kill the innocent to escape another’s guilty act, and perpetrate upon himself a sin of his own, that the sin of another may not be perpetrated on him?

That Christians Have No Authority for Committing Suicide in Any Circumstances Whatever It is not without significance, that in no passage of the holy canonical books there can be found either divine precept or permission to take away our own life, whether for the sake of entering on the enjoyment of immortality, or of shunning, or ridding ourselves of anything whatever. Nay, the law, rightly interpreted, even prohibits suicide, where it says, “Thou shalt not kill.” This is proved especially by the omission of the words “thy neighbor,” which are inserted when false witness is forbidden:“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” Nor yet should any one on this account suppose he has not broken this commandment if he has borne false witness only against himself. For the love of our neighbor is regulated by the love of ourselves, as it is written, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” If, then, he who makes false statements about himself is not less guilty of bearing false witness than if he had made them to the injury of his neighbor; although in the commandment prohibiting false witness only his neighbor is mentioned, and persons taking no pains to understand it might suppose that a man was allowed to be a false witness to his own hurt; how much greater reason have we to understand that a man may not kill himself, since in the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” there is no limitation added nor any exception made in favor of any one, and least of all in favor of him on whom the command is laid! And so some attempt to extend this command even to beasts and cattle, as if it forbade us to take life from any creature. But if so, why not extend it also to the plants, and all that is rooted in and nourished by the earth? For though this class of creatures have no sensation, yet they also are said to live, and consequently they can die; and therefore, if violence be done them, can be killed. So, too, the apostle, when speaking of the seeds of such things as these, says, “That which thou sowest is not quickened except it die;” and in the Psalm it is said, “He killed their vines with hail.” Must we therefore reckon it a breaking of this commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” to pull a flower? Are we thus insanely to countenance the foolish error of the Manichæans? Putting aside, then, these ravings, if, when we say, Thou shalt not kill, we do not understand this of the plants, since they have no sensation, nor of the irrational animals that fly, swim, walk, or creep, since they are dissociated from us by their want of reason, and are therefore by the just appointment of the Creator subjected to us to kill or keep alive for our own uses; if so, then it remains that we understand that commandment simply of man. The commandment is, “Thou shall not kill man;” therefore neither another nor yourself, for he who kills himself still kills nothing else than man.

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That Suicide Can Never Be Prompted by Magnanimity But they who have laid violent hands on themselves are perhaps to be admired for their greatness of soul, though they cannot be applauded for the soundness of their judgment. However, if you look at the matter more closely, you will scarcely call it greatness of soul, which prompts a man to kill himself rather than bear up against some hardships of fortune, or sins in which he is not implicated. Is it not rather proof of a feeble mind, to be unable to bear either the pains of bodily servitude or the foolish opinion of the vulgar? And is not that to be pronounced the greater mind, which rather faces than flees the ills of life, and which, in comparison of the light and purity of conscience, holds in small esteem the judgment of men, and specially of the vulgar, which is frequently involved in a mist of error? And, therefore, if suicide is to be esteemed a magnanimous act, none can take higher rank for magnanimity than that Cleombrotus, who (as the story goes), when he had read Plato’s book in which he treats of the immortality of the soul, threw himself from a wall, and so passed from this life to that which he believed to be better. For he was not hard pressed by calamity, nor by any accusation, false or true, which he could not very well have lived down; there was, in short, no motive but only magnanimity urging him to seek death, and break away from the sweet detention of this life. And yet that this was a magnanimous rather than a justifiable action, Plato himself, whom he had read, would have told him; for he would certainly have been forward to commit, or at least to recommend suicide, had not the same bright intellect which saw that the soul was immortal, discerned also that to seek immortality by suicide was to be prohibited rather than encouraged. Again, it is said many have killed themselves to prevent an enemy doing so. But we are not inquiring whether it has been done, but whether it ought to have been done. Sound judgment is to be preferred even to examples, and indeed examples harmonize with the voice of reason; but not all examples, but those only which are distinguished by their piety, and are proportionately worthy of imitation. For suicide we cannot cite the example of patriarchs, prophets, or apostles; though our Lord Jesus Christ, when He admonished them to flee from city to city if they were persecuted, might very well have taken that occasion to advise them to lay violent hands on themselves, and so escape their persecutors. But seeing He did not do this, nor proposed this mode of departing this life, though He were addressing His own friends for whom He had promised to prepare everlasting mansions, it is obvious that such examples as are produced from the “nations that forget God,” give no warrant of imitation to the worshippers of the one true God.

That in that Virtue in Which Regulus Excels Cato, Christians Are Pre-Eminently Distinguished Our opponents are offended at our preferring to Cato the saintly Job, who endured dreadful evils in his body rather than deliver himself from all torment by self-inflicted death; or other saints, of whom it is recorded in our authoritative and trustworthy books that they bore captivity and the oppression of their enemies rather than commit suicide. But their own books authorize us to prefer to Marcus Cato, Marcus Regulus. For Cato had never conquered Cæsar; and when conquered by him, disdained to submit himself to him, and that he might escape this submission put himself to death. Regulus, on the contrary, had formerly conquered the Carthaginians, and in command of the army of Rome had won for the Roman republic a victory which no citizen could bewail, and which the enemy himself was constrained to admire; yet afterwards, when

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he in his turn was defeated by them, he preferred to be their captive rather than to put himself beyond their reach by suicide. Patient under the domination of the Carthaginians, and constant in his love of the Romans, he neither deprived the one of his conquered body, nor the other of his unconquered spirit. Neither was it love of life that prevented him from killing himself. This was plainly enough indicated by his unhesitatingly returning, on account of his promise and oath, to the same enemies whom he had more grievously provoked by his words in the senate than even by his arms in battle. Having such a contempt of life, and preferring to end it by whatever torments excited enemies might contrive, rather than terminate it by his own hand, he could not more distinctly have declared how great a crime he judged suicide to be....

That We Should Not Endeavor by Sin to Obviate Sin But, we are told, there is ground to fear that, when the body is subjected to the enemy’s lust, the insidious pleasure of sense may entice the soul to consent to the sin, and steps must be taken to prevent so disastrous a result. And is not suicide the proper mode of preventing not only the enemy’s sin, but the sin of the Christian so allured? Now, in the first place, the soul which is led by God and His wisdom, rather than by bodily concupiscence, will certainly never consent to the desire aroused in its own flesh by another’s lust. And, at all events, if it be true, as the truth plainly declares, that suicide is a detestable and damnable wickedness, who is such a fool as to say, Let us sin now, that we may obviate a possible future sin; let us now commit murder, lest we perhaps afterwards should commit adultery? If we are so controlled by iniquity that innocence is out of the question, and we can at best but make a choice of sins, is not a future and uncertain adultery preferable to a present and certain murder? Is it not better to commit a wickedness which penitence may heal, than a crime which leaves no place for healing contrition? Isay this for the sake of those men or women who fear they may be enticed into consenting to their violator’s lust, and think they should lay violent hands on themselves, and so prevent, not another’s sin, but their own. But far be it from the mind of a Christian confiding in God, and resting in the hope of His aid; far be it, Isay, from such a mind to yield a shameful consent to pleasures of the flesh, howsoever presented. And if that lustful disobedience, which still dwells in our mortal members, follows its own law irrespective of our will, surely its motions in the body of one who rebels against them are as blameless as its motions in the body of one who sleeps.

Whether Voluntary Death Should Be Sought in Order to Avoid Sin There remains one reason for suicide which Imentioned before, and which is thought a sound one,—namely, to prevent one’s falling into sin either through the blandishments of pleasure or the violence of pain. If this reason were a good one, then we should be impelled to exhort men at once to destroy themselves, as soon as they have been washed in the laver of regeneration, and have received the forgiveness of all sin. Then is the time to escape all future sin, when all past sin is blotted out. And if this escape be lawfully secured by suicide, why not then specially? Why does any baptized person hold his hand from taking his own life? Why does any person who is freed from the hazards of this life again expose himself to them, when he has power so easily to rid himself of them all, and when it is written, “He who loveth danger shall fall into it?” Why

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does he love, or at least face, so many serious dangers, by remaining in this life from which he may legitimately depart? But is any one so blinded and twisted in his moral nature, and so far astray from the truth, as to think that, though a man ought to make away with himself for fear of being led into sin by the oppression of one man, his master, he ought yet to live, and so expose himself to the hourly temptations of this world, both to all those evils which the oppression of one master involves, and to numberless other miseries in which this life inevitably implicates us? What reason, then, is there for our consuming time in those exhortations by which we seek to animate the baptized, either to virginal chastity, or vidual [widowed] continence, or matrimonial fidelity, when we have so much more simple and compendious a method of deliverance from sin, by persuading those who are fresh from baptism to put an end to their lives, and so pass to their Lord pure and well-conditioned? If any one thinks that such persuasion should be attempted, Isay not he is foolish, but mad. With what face, then, can he say to any man, “Kill yourself, lest to your small sins you add a heinous sin, while you live under an unchaste master, whose conduct is that of a barbarian?” How can he say this, if he cannot without wickedness say, “Kill yourself, now that you are washed from all your sins, lest you fall again into similar or even aggravated sins, while you live in a world which has such power to allure by its unclean pleasures, to torment by its horrible cruelties, to overcome by its errors and terrors?” It is wicked to say this; it is therefore wicked to kill oneself. For if there could be any just cause of suicide, this were so. And since not even this is so, there is none.

from ON FREE CHOICE OF THE WILL ... Someone might say, “I would rather not exist at all than be unhappy.” Iwould reply, “You’re lying. You’re unhappy now, and the only reason you don’t want to die is to go on existing. You don’t want to be unhappy, but you do want to exist. Give thanks, therefore, for what you are willingly, so that what you are against your will might be taken away; for you willingly exist, but you are unhappy against your will. If you are ungrateful for what you will to be, you are justly compelled to be what you do not will. So Ipraise the goodness of your Creator, for even though you are ungrateful you have what you will; and Ipraise the justice of your Lawgiver, for because you are ungrateful you suffer what you do not will.” But then he might say, “It is not because Iwould rather be unhappy than not exist at all that Iam unwilling to die; it’s because I’m afraid that Imight be even more unhappy after death.” Iwould reply, “If it is unjust for you to be even more unhappy, you won’t be so; but if it is just, let us praise him by whose laws you will be so.” Next he might ask, “Why should Iassume that if it is unjust Iwon’t be more unhappy?” I would reply, “If at that time you will be governing yourself unjustly, in which case you will deserve your unhappiness. But suppose instead that you wish to govern yourself justly but cannot. That means that you are not in your own power, so either someone else has power over you, or no one has. If no one has power over you, you will act either willingly or unwillingly. It cannot be unwillingly, because nothing happens to you unwillingly unless you are overcome by some force, and you cannot be overcome by any force if no one has power over you. And if it is

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willingly, you are in fact in your own power, and the earlier argument applies:either you deserve your unhappiness for governing yourself unjustly, or, since you have whatever you will, you have reason to give thanks for the goodness of your Creator....” ... Then he might say, “The only reason that Iwill to be unhappy rather than not to exist at all is that Ialready exist; if somehow Icould have been consulted on this matter before Iexisted, Iwould have chosen not to exist rather than to be unhappy. The fact that Iam now afraid not to exist, even though Iam unhappy, is itself part of that very unhappiness because of which Ido not will what Iought to will. For Iought to will not to exist rather than to be unhappy. And yet Iadmit that in fact Iwould rather be unhappy than be nothing. But the more unhappy Iam, the more foolish Iam to will this; and the more truly Isee that Iought not will this, the more unhappy Iam.” I would reply, “Be careful that you are not mistaken when you think you see the truth. For if you were happy, you would certainly prefer existence to nonexistence. Even as it is, although you are unhappy and do not will to be unhappy, you would rather exist and be unhappy than not exist at all. Consider, then, as well as you can, how great is the good of existence, which the happy and the unhappy alike will.... The more you love existence, the more you will desire eternal life, and so the more you will long to be refashioned so that your affections are no longer temporal, branded upon you by the love of temporal things that are nothing before they exist, and then, once they do exist, flee from existence until they exist no more.... ... do not grieve that you would rather exist and be unhappy than not exist and be nothing at all. Instead, rejoice greatly, for your will to exist is like a first step. If you go on from there to set your sights more and more on existence, you will rise to him who exists in the highest degree. Thus you will keep yourself from the kind of fall in which that which exists in the lowest degree ceases to exist and thereby devastates the one who loves it. Hence, someone who prefers not to exist rather than to be unhappy has no choice but to be unhappy, since he cannot fail to exist; but someone who loves existence more than he hates being unhappy can banish what he hates by cleaving more and more to what he loves. For someone who has come to enjoy an existence that is perfect for a thing of his kind cannot be unhappy. Notice how absurd and illogical it would be to say “I would prefer not to exist rather than to be unhappy.” For someone who says “I would prefer this rather than that” is choosing. But not to exist is not something, but nothing. Therefore, you can’t properly choose it, since what you are choosing does not exist.... Furthermore, if someone is right in choosing to pursue something, it must be the case that he becomes better when he attains it. But whoever does not exist cannot be better, and so no one can be right in choosing not to exist. We should not be swayed by the judgment of those whose unhappiness has driven them to suicide. Either they thought that they would be better off after death, in which case they were doing nothing contrary to our argument (whether they were right in thinking so or not); or else they thought that they would be nothing after death, in which case there is even less reason for us to bother with them, since they falsely chose nothing. For how am Isupposed to concur in the choice of someone who, if Iasked him what he was choosing, would say “Nothing”? And someone who chooses not to exist is clearly choosing nothing, even if he won’t admit it. To tell you quite frankly what Ithink about this whole issue, it seems to me that someone who kills himself or in some way wants to die has the feeling that he will not exist after death, whatever his conscious opinion may be.... It often happens that right opinion corrects perverted

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habits and that perverted opinion distorts an upright nature, so great is the power of the dominion and rule of reason. Therefore, someone who believes that after death he will not exist is driven by his unbearable troubles to desire death with all his heart; he chooses death and takes hold of it. His opinion is completely false, but his feeling is simply a natural desire for peace. And something that has peace is not nothing; indeed, it is greater than something that is restless. For restlessness generates one conflicting passion after another, whereas peace has the constancy that is the most conspicuous characteristic of Being. So the will’s desire for death is not a desire for nonexistence but a desire for peace. When someone wrongly believes that he will not exist, he desires by nature to be at peace; that is, he desires to exist in a higher degree. Therefore, just as no one can desire not to exist, no one ought to be ungrateful to the goodness of the Creator for the fact that he exists....

THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD (3rd–6th century) Bava Kamma 91b Avodah Zarah 18a Gittin 57b Semahot 2:1–2

The Babylonian Talmud, the most comprehensive body of rabbinic literature and a central text of Jewish civil and religious law, dates from the 2nd century b.c. to its final redaction during the 5th and 6th centuries a.d.. Talmudic literature, including the Mishnah, the Babylonian and Palestinian ( Jerusalem) Talmuds, and the various midrashic commentaries on the Hebrew Bible [q.v.] including Genesis Rabbah [q.v.], provides the classical, canonical statement of rabbinic Judaism. The Mishnah, the oldest text of the talmudic literature, is a codification of laws derived from an oral tradition. These legal and folkloric teachings, normative statements, and anecdotes relating to rabbinic practice and instruction developed over a period that began several centuries before the Christian era. In the 3rd century a.d., Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi compiled the existing traditions and gave them the fixed form now known as the Mishnah. The word “mishnah” is a noun formed from the verb “shannah,” which means “to repeat” or “to learn,” specifically indicating an education derived orally through continual recitation. The Mishnah is the foundation of both Talmuds. The Palestinian Talmud, also called the Jerusalem Talmud, contains both the Mishnah and a commentary on the Mishnah called the Gemara. This Talmud was collected and written by Palestinian scholars from the 3rd century a.d. to the 5th century a.d. The Babylonian Talmud includes both the Mishnah and its own Gemara written mostly in Aramaic, different from the commentaries found in the Palestinian Talmud. The contents of the Babylonian Talmud were collected and composed by scholars in the 3rd century a.d. through the 6th century. While the two Gemaras partially overlap, the Babylonian Talmud is generally more extensive and its discussions are more fully developed; within the later Jewish tradition, it is considered the authoritative Talmud.

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Several selections from the Babylonian Talmud are included in this volume. The first is from Bava Kamma (“First Gate”), a treatise of the order Nezikin (“Injuries”) on compensation for damages it cites disagreement among the Tanaim, scholars of the period of the Mishna (sing. Tana). This text again cites the same midrash regarding suicide, though in somewhat different form, that had been earlier “creatively” developed in Genesis Rabbah. It confirms the prohibition of suicide midrashically derived from Genesis 9:5, and explores both sides of the issue of whether a person is allowed to harm himself or herself. Clearly, some early sources in the Jewish tradition appear to allow self-harm (see the selections from the Hebrew Bible [q.v.]); the Talmud here seems to labor to find a clear source for a more restrictive view. As is common in talmudic discussions, this remains an unresolved issue. The second inclusion from the Babylonian Talmud is found in Avodah Zarah (“Idolatrous Worship”), also of the order Nezikin, a treatise on the laws regulating the conduct of the Jews toward other forms of worship and practices regarded as idolatry. In this selection, Chanina ben Tradyon, a rabbi and teacher, is condemned to die by the Romans for continuing to teach Jewish law. Initially, when his students suggest hastening his death, R.Chanina refuses their offer and affirms the general prohibition of suicide by appealing to the idea that God alone has sovereign power over all life. Then, in a seeming contradiction, he agrees to have the executioner bring about his death quickly and promises the executioner—a pagan— eternal life in exchange for helping him. The executioner increases the flame, precipitating R.Chanina’s death, and then promptly leaps into the fire himself. Aheavenly voice approves of the actions of both men, saying, “R. Chanina b.Tradyon and his executioner are invited to the world to come.” The third and fourth selections from the Babylonian Talmud come from the treatise Gittin (“Documents”) of the order Nashim (“Women”). Both excerpts offer examples of suicide during times of persecution, in one case to escape sexual slavery, and in the other as a response to severe grief. The first example, from the aftermath of the failed Jewish rebellion against Rome, describes the suicides of 400 boys and girls who were intended for use as prostitutes. Responding to a question by one of the girls, the eldest boy cites a verse from Psalms to show that they would be brought into the world to come if they jumped into the sea. Each group then throws themselves into the water. This selection raises several important questions about the relationship between suicide and martyrdom, including whether actively committing suicide to escape an evil like forced prostitution is morally distinct from allowing oneself to be killed, as in the biblical account of Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah, or Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, and why the suicide of the boys and girls is acceptable when it was inappropriate, at least initially, for R.Chanina to hasten his death to escape the torture of immolation. The Gittin also depicts the suicide of a woman whose children allowed themselves to be martyred to avoid the sin of idolatry. The woman, who was not a martyr like her children, is nevertheless represented as an example of an appropriate an appropriate example of suicide:she throws herself from a roof and then “rejoices with her sons” in the afterlife. No explanation is given for the licitness of the woman’s death, although it is possible that her suicide was excusable in her unique circumstances because of extreme grief. The final inclusion from the Babylonian Talmud is in Semahot (“Joys,” a circumlocution for mourning), a later treatise that is placed after the order Nezikin in more recent editions of the Talmud; it deals with mourning for the dead. Semahot is a post-talmudic composition that arrived at its present form in the 8th century a.d.; it is included here because it undoubtedly contains earlier material. The selection describes what is to be done in terms of rites and mourning for a person who has committed suicide. However, the passage ensures that few deaths will be classified as suicide by holding that one

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The Babylonian Talmud

may be treated as a suicide only if witnesses can testify that the deceased expressed clear intent and acted immediately following the expression of intent. (This requirement presumably incorporates the usual rules requiring two reliable witnesses who are independently cross-examined and excluding circumstantial evidence.) This attempt at defining suicide opened a subsequent debate within Judaism spanning several centuries and comprising an enormous body of rabbinic literature.

Source Babylonian Talmud:Bava Kamma 91b, Abodah Zarah 18a, Gittin 57b, Semahot 2:1–2, tr. Baruch Brody. Comment in introduction from Noam Zohar.

from THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD Bava Kamma 91b There is a disagreement among the Tanaim, for some say that a person is not allowed to harm himself while others say that he is. Which Tana says that a person is not allowed to harm himself? Is it the Tana who taught:“But your blood from yourself Iwill seek punishment [Genesis 9:5]”? R.Elazar says, from you yourself Iwill seek punishment for your blood. Perhaps self-killing is different.... It is the Tana who taught:R.Elazar Hakfar said, what do we learn from the verse [about the Nazirite] which says, “it will redeem him from the sin that he sinned in himself?” What is his sin? He denied himself wine. We can argue a fortiori. If this person who just denied himself wine is considered a sinner, then the person who more fully harmed himself is certainly considered a sinner.

Avodah Zarah 18a They took him [Chanina b. Tradyon], wrapped a Scroll of the Law around him, and placed bundles of branches around him, which they set on fire. They brought wool soaked in water and placed it on his heart so that he could not die quickly. . . . His students said to him, “Open your mouth and let the flame enter [so that you will die].” He said to them, “It is better that [life] should be taken by He who gave it and a person should not harm himself.” The executioner said to him, “Rabbi, if I increase the fire and take the wool from your heart, will you bring me to the world to come?” He said, “Yes.” “Swear that to me.” He did. Immediately he [the executioner] increased the flame and took the wool from his heart, and he died. He [the executioner] jumped into the fire. A Heavenly Voice said, “R. Chanina b. Tradyon and his executioner are invited to the world to come.”

Gittin 57b It happened that 400 boys and girls had been taken captive to be used as prostitutes. They realized for what they were wanted. They asked, “If we drown in the sea, will we enter the world to

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come?” The eldest taught, “I will bring from the depths of the sea (Ps. 68:22); these are those who drown in the sea.” When the girls heard this, they all jumped into the sea. The boys argued a fortiori about themselves. “If these for whom it [the intended sexual act] is natural did this, we, for whom it [the intended sexual act] is not natural should certainly do so.” They also jumped into the sea. . . . The mother [of the seven martyrs] said to them, “Give him to me so that Imay kiss him a little.” She said to him, “My son, go and say to Abraham your father, you sacrificed on one altar and Isacrificed on seven altars.” She went up to the roof and fell and died. AHeavenly Voice came and said, “The mother of the sons rejoices.”

Semahot 2:1-2 If someone commits suicide, we do not perform any rites over him. R. Yishmael says, “We say over him, Woe! He has taken his life.” R. Akiva says, “Leave him in silence. Neither honor him nor curse him. We do not rend any garments over him, do not take off any shoes, do not eulogize him. But we do line up for the mourners, and we do bless them because this honors the living. The rule is: we do whatever honors the living. . . .” Who is someone who has committed suicide? It is not the person who has gone up to the top of the tree and fallen or the person who has gone up to the top of the roof and fallen. It is the person who says “I will go to the top of the roof or the top of the tree and throw myself down and kill myself ” and we see him do just that. This is the person about whom we presume he has committed suicide.

BANA (c. 595–c. 655) from Harsha-Carita, The Death of the

Great King: On Sati (in Archive only) from Kadambari

Bana, also known as Banabhatta, a Sanskrit author and poet, was born in the latter part of the 6th century in Brahmanadhivasa, or Pritikuta, northern India, into a Brahmin family. Bana’s mother died when he was a child, and his father died when Bana was 14; afterward, he led a nomadic life for many years. He maintained his ancestral fortune, but traveled because of an innate curiosity and desire to explore; according to his own account, he became a figure of derision among his people because of his unorthodox wanderings. When he returned to his native Pritikuta, he was summoned by the emperor Harsha to appear at the royal court. “Emperor Harsha’s ears have been poisoned against you by some wicked people,” warned a message conveyed to him on his return. In spite of his fears about the hostile

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reception that might be awaiting him, Bana found favor with the emperor and was asked to write a history of Harsha’s life—which, according to his own account, he began the next morning. The resulting work, the Harsha-Carita (Deeds of Harsha), written in the lofty kavya style of Sanskrit, chronicles the history of this emperor, the famous Harshavardhana (c. 590–647). Harsha gained territory in a brilliant career of conquest and eventually ruled the whole of northern India; his reign lasted from about 606 to 647. Harsha was the last Hindu emperor of northern India; a Chinese Buddhist traveler, Hiuen Tsang, who resided at Harsha’s court from about 630 to 644, says that toward the end of his career, Harsha became a devout Buddhist and held a great assembly every five years in which he emptied his treasury to give all away in charity. Bana’s commissioned portrayal of Harsha is best described as a historical romance, in which he takes his own sovereign as his hero and weaves the story out of the events of Harsha’s reign. Bana’s other works include lyric poetry, prose, drama, romances, and a poetic novel that is the history of his own family, the unfinished Kadambari, later completed by his son. The second selection here is from this latter work. Bana’s works earned him a reputation as one of the most talented Sanskrit poets in Indian history. The selection from the Harsha-Carita is a complex portrayal of the Hindu practice of sati (literally, “virtuous woman”), or anumarana (from the Sanskrit verb anu-mri, “to follow in death”). In sati, or widow-burning, a wife who has just been widowed immolates herself on her husband’s funeral pyre as he is being cremated. The custom of concremation had been described in northern India before the Gupta Empire; it may have developed from funeral practices involving the voluntary deaths of retainers and others loyal to the deceased, or evolved from Vedic and sutra-period expectations that the widow lead an ascetic life and marry her dead husband’s younger brother or other kinsman. Sati developed particularly in the higher castes in northern India from the 5th through the 10th centuries, and became the subject of considerable controversy in the 19th century in Bengal [q.v., under Rammohun Roy and under Hindu Widow]. Although often infrequent and, it is claimed, for the most part (though not always) voluntary, sati was practiced throughout India until it was banned by the Bengal Presidency in 1828 and the ban upheld by the British Privy Council in 1832. By the time of Bana, in the 7th century a.d., sati had come to be regarded as an act of the greatest spiritual merit:The woman who died on her husband’s funeral pyre was known as a sati, a “virtuous woman,” a term also applied to the act itself. In Bana’s account in the Harsha-Carita, a queen explains to her son why she is resolved to follow the custom of sati—atypically, even though her husband, the emperor, is not yet dead, and even though her son begs her not to kill herself. It also describes the suicides of other queens and the emperor’s retainers, once he has died. The passage is important for the insight it gives into Hinduism’s conceptualization of sati and related practices, and the sense in which these practices, though socially expected, were also understood as both voluntary and caused by overwhelming grief. Bana himself, however, was perhaps the first opponent of the practice of sati and an extremely strong one. The second very brief selection, from his novel Kadambari, gives his reasons for his opposition. He denounces the practice as “stumbling through stupidity.”

Sources The Harsha-Carita of Bana, ch. V, trs. E. B.Cowell and F. W.Thomas [1897], Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass, 1961, pp. 151–155. Quotations in introductory passage, pp. xi, xlviii. Available online at www.mssu/ edu/projectsouthasia/ from the Project South Asia; Bana, Kadambari, ed. Kashinath Pandurang Parab. Nirnaysagar Press, 1890, purva-bhag, p.339.

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from HARSHA-CARITA, THE DEATH OF

THE GREAT KING:ON SATI

Thus:—first the earth, heaving in all her circle of great hills, moved as though she would go with her lord. Next the oceans, as though remembering Dhanvantari, rolled with waves noisily plashing upon each other. High in the heavenly spaces, apprehensive of the king’s removal, appeared comets like braided locks with awful curls of far-extended flame. Beneath a sky thus lowering with comets the world seemed grey, as with the smoke of a Long Life sacrifice commenced by the sky regents. In the sun’s circle, now shorn of its radiance and lurid as a bowl of heated iron, some power, studious of the king’s life, had presented a human offering in the guise of a horrid headless trunk. The lord of white effulgence, gleaming ’mid the round rim of his flaming halo, seemed to have raised a rampart of fire in alarm at Rahu’s greedily opening jaws. The quarters, won by the king’s valour, glowed red as though they had in anticipation entered fire. All crimsoned with flowing showers of bloody dew, the earth, his spouse, appeared to have shrouded herself in a gown of red cloth to die with him.... ... Distressed by these mighty signs, the prince could scarce live through that night. On the morrow a woman approached from the palace with such a tinkle of ornaments breaking in her hurried advance that she seemed a proclamation of the victory of dismay. The clash of her anklets, as they moved on her hurrying feet, set the craning hamsas of the palace cackling, as if from a (respectful) distance they were asking ‘What? What?’... Hanging over her sloping shoulders, tossed by the wind, and black as strips of Tamala bark, her hair covered her bosom in a dangling unbraided mass in keeping with her grief. As she incessantly waved her hand, which through the pain of beating her breasts was swollen and dark almost like copper in the palm, one might have thought it scorched through wiping away her hot tears. The people near her, imaged in her cheek, she seemed to bathe in her eyes’ broken cascade, as if they were soon to enter the fire of sorrow. Under the quivering rays that issued from her restless eyes the very day grew black, as if burnt by her grief. It was Vela, Yashovati’s head attendant, inquiring of everyone where the prince was. Welcomed by the people’s despairing looks, she drew near, and letting both hands fall upon the mosaic, so that as she bent her head the rays from her teeth seemed to besprinkle her pallid lips in a falling shower, ‘Help, help, my lord,’ she cried; ‘though her husband lives, the queen has taken a certain resolution.’ At the news of this further grief the prince, as if his strength of mind had given way, as if melted by sorrow, drained by thought, carried off his feet by pain, clasped by alarm to her bosom, lost all power of action. With returning consciousness, ‘Callous that Iam,’ he thought, ‘the assault of grief, oft as it falls upon my heart, yet like a hammer’s stroke upon hard flint, evokes fire indeed, but reduces not my frame to ashes.’ Rising, he went in haste to the women’s apartments, where while still at a distance he heard cries like these from queens resolved to die:—‘Beloved Mango, take thought to yourself, your mother is seeking another home—I am going, darling jasmine cluster, bid me farewell—Without me, sister pomegranate by the house, you are now to be defenceless—Forgive, red Ashoka, my kicks and sins in plucking your sprays for ear-ornaments—I see you, seraglio Vakula, wayward child as you are become through those mouthfuls of wine—Clasp me tight, dear Priyangu creeper; I am passing beyond your reach—Friend Mango at the porch, you must render me the funeral libation of

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water, since you are my child—See you forget me not, brother parrot in your cage! What say you? Iam taken away from you—May we meet again, Sharika, in dreams—Mother, to whom shall Ientrust the tame peacock who clings in my path?—Nurse, you must fondle this pair of hamsas like children—Ah hapless me! not to have enjoyed the marriage festivities of this couple of ruddy-geese—Go back, fawn deer, mother’s darling—Chamberlain, fetch my favourite lute, Imust embrace it—Take a good look at me, Candraseni—Vindumati, this is my last greeting— Let go my feet, girl—Venerable old widow friend, why do you weep? Iam in the hand of fate—Chamberlain, old friend, why pass respectfully round an unlucky woman like me?—Control yourself, foster sister, why do you fall at my feet?—Clasp me by the neck, sister, for the last time—Cruel, Ihave not seen my dear friend Malayavati—This humble greeting, Kurangavati, is for goodbye—Sanumati, this is my last obeisance—This, Kuvalayavati, is our final embrace—Pardon, friends, our lovers’ quarrels.’ Entering with these sounds burning in his ears, he saw his mother just issuing forth, after giving away all her wealth and assuming the vestments of death, with the purpose of entering the fire, like Sita, before her lord. Still wet from her recent bath, she resembled the holy Sri just risen from the ocean. Like the sky with its double twilight tints, she wore two saffron-brown robes. Enveloping her form, like a silken shawl, she wore the tokens of her unwidowed death, reddened by a tissue of light from lips stained with the deep dye of betel. Hanging between her breasts was a red neck cord, suggesting a stream of blood pouring from a broken heart. Her necklace, the thread of which was drawn aside by the hooked point of a cross-bent earring, seemed a halter of white silk compressing her throat. Her limbs being all aglow with moist saffron paste, she appeared to be swallowed in the pyre’s devouring flames, while she filled the bosom of her robe with white tears like flower offerings to its blaze. At every step she scattered in dropping bracelets a kind of farewell present to the family goddesses. From her neck down to her instep hung wreaths of strung flowers, as if she were mounted on a death-swing with garlands for cords. An ear-lotus resonant with bees humming within seemed to be saluting her lotus eyes. The domestic hamsas, lovers of her jewelled anklets, moved in a circle round her, as if to make the ceremonial circuit. Her hand carried a picture representing her husband, which she held as steadfast as her heart, where he dwelt, was fixed on death. Lovingly, like a pennon of wifely love, she clasped her lord’s spear-haft, reverently tied with waving strings of white flowers. Before the king’s Umbrella, spotless as her life, she shed tears as to a kinsman. She was giving instructions to her husband’s ministers, who grasped them with difficulty, their eyes being stopped by torrents of tears that welled up as they fell at her feet. Her ears caught the sound of wailing in the house, where a group of old kinsmen, grieving at their courteous dismissal, were adding to the clamour. The roars of the caged lions took her heart captive, resembling, as they did, her husband’s utterance. Her nurse and her conjugal love had combined to beautify her:an old woman and swooning, familiar both, supported her:a friend and agony, comrades in adversity, embraced her:servants and pain were about her, clasping every limb:great princes and sighs attended her:behind came aged chamberlains and heavy griefs. Even upon her husband’s favourite hounds she cast a tearful eye:she fell at the feet even of rival queens:to even the painted figures she offered greeting:before even the domestic birds she clasped her hands:to the very brutes she said farewell:she embraced the very trees about the palace. ‘Mother,’ cried the prince while still afar, his eyes filling with tears, ‘do you also abandon hapless me? Be merciful and turn back,’ and so in the act of speaking fell at her feet till his crest was

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almost lovingly kissed by the light of her jewelled anklets. As he lay there with his head touching her feet, her youngest and dearest son in such distraction of mind, the queen Yashovati, propped up by a great frenzy of grief like a mountain, carried away into the Tartarean darkness of a swoon, overborne by the full tide of love rising in might like an outburst of accumulated tears long pent up, could not in spite of all her efforts check the torrent of her weeping.... Then, as her thought recurred to home and kin, full oft she moaned, calling aloud upon her parents, ‘Mother! Father! look not upon me as a sinner that in my sore affliction Ihave set out for the other world’:crying to her dear elder son far away, ‘Alas darling! that I, all ill-fated, see you not’: lamenting her daughter, now settled in her father-in-law’s house, ‘Defenceless are you now’:reproaching, fate, ‘Merciless power, how have Ioffended?’:inveighing in various ways against herself, ‘No woman has had such an evil portion as I’: suddenly reviling death, ‘Remorseless one, thou hast stolen me away!’ When this outburst of grief had died away, she lovingly raised her son, and with her hand wiped his streaming eyes,... stood for some time with her eyes fixed immoveably upon her son’s face, and then after many long sighs spoke. ‘It is not, dear, that you are unloved, without noble qualities, or deserving to be abandoned. With my very bosom’s milk you drank up my heart. If at this hour my regard is not towards you, ’tis that my lord’s great condescension comes between us. Furthermore, dear son, Iam not, like glory or the earth, incompassionate, a requisite of sovereignty, ever craving for the sight of another lord. Iam the lady of a great house, born of a stainless ancestry, one whose virtue is her dower. Have you forgotten that Iam the lioness mate of a great spirit, who like a lion had his delight in a hundred battles? Daughter, spouse, mother of heroes, how otherwise could such a woman as I, whose price was valour, act? This hand has been clasped by even such a hero, thy father, a chief among princes, peer of Bharata, Bhagiratha, and Nabhaga. Upon this head have the subservient wives of countless feudatories poured coronation water from golden ewers. This forehead, in winning the honourable fillet of chief-queen, has enjoyed a thing scarce accessible to desire. These breasts have worn robes swayed by the wind of chowries waved by captive wives of foes; they have been sucked by sons like you. Upon the heads of rival wives have these feet been set; they have been adored with diamond-wreaths of diadems by the bending matrons of a whole capital. Thus every limb has fulfilled its mission:Ihave spent my store of good works, what more should Ilook to? Iwould die while still unwidowed. Icannot endure, like the widowed Rati, to make unavailing lamentations for a burnt husband. Going before, like the dust of your father's feet, to announce his coming to the heavens, Ishall be high esteemed of the hero-loving spouses of the gods. Nay, what will the smoke-bannered one burn of me, who am already on fire with the recent sight of his heart-rending pains? Not to die, but to live at such a time would be unfeeling. Compared with the flame of wifely sorrow, whose fuel is imperishable love, fire itself is chilly cold. How suits it to be parsimonious of a life light as a bit of rotten straw, when that life’s lord, majestic as Kailasa, is passing away? Even should Ilive, yet after the mortal sin of slighting the king’s death the joys, my son, of my son’s rule will touch me not. In those that are consumed by grief felicity is ominous, accursed, and unavailing. Not in the body, dear son, but in the glory of loyal widows would Iabide on earth. Therefore dishonour me no more, Ibeseech you, beloved son, with opposition to my heart’s desire.’ So saying she fell at his feet. But the prince hastily drew them away, and bending down, held her in both his arms, and raised her prostrate form. Pondering the inevitableness of grief,

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deeming that act to be the better part befitting a lady of rank, recognizing her fixed resolution, he stood in silence with downcast looks. True is it that, even when made timorous by affection, a noble nature resigns itself to what accords with place and time. Having embraced her son and kissed his head, the queen went forth on foot from the women’s quarter, and, though the heavens, filled with the citizens’ lamentations, seemed to block her path, proceeded to the Sarasvati’s banks. Then, having worshipped the fire with the blooming red lotus posies of a woman’s timorous glances, she plunged into it, as the moon’s form enters the adorable sun. The other, distracted at his mother’s death, departed ’mid a throng of kinsmen to his father’s side, and found him with his vital forces nearly spent, revolving his eyeballs as the declining lord of stars (the Moon) revolves his stars. Overcome with excess of intolerable grief, robbed by affection of all self-control, he clasped those lotus feet which had been fondled by the assembled crests of all proud kings; and uttering a cry, burst like a common man into a long fit of weeping, raining from clouded eyes a most pellucid stream of tears. It seemed as if an inner fire were melting his moonlike face, the light-texture of his teeth turning to water, the loveliness of his eyes oozing out, the ambrosia of his countenance trickling away. The king, whose eyes were closing, recovering consciousness as the sound of the prince’s ceaseless weeping fell upon his ear, uttered in faint tones these words:—“You should not be so, my son. Men of your mould are not infirm of heart. Strength of soul is the people’s mainstay, and second to it is royal blood. With you, the vanguard of the stout-hearted, the abode of all preeminence, what has weakness to do? To say you are the lamp of our line were almost depreciation of one whose brilliance compares with the god of day. To call you a lion among heroes is like a reproach to one whose prowess is seconded by penetrating insight. To declare this earth yours is almost a vain repetition, when your bodily marks proclaim an universal emperor’s dignity. To bid you take to yourself glory is almost contradictory, when glory has herself adopted you. ‘Succeed to this world’ is a command too mean for an intending conqueror of both worlds. ‘Appropriate my treasury’ is a grant of little service to one whose sole craving is for the accumulation of fame spotless as moonlight. ‘Make prize of the feudatory kings’ is almost meaningless, when your virtues have made prize of all beings. ‘Support the burden of royalty’ is an injunction misbecoming one accustomed to support the burden of the three worlds. ‘Protect the people’ is but reiteration, when the sky has your long arm for its bar. ‘Guard well your dependents’ is an incidental duty to a peer of the world’s Guardians. ‘Practise yourself in arms,’ to one whose forearm is blackened by the bow-string’s callous brand how can this advice be given? ‘Check levity’ is an utterance without excuse towards one whose senses even in tender years were held in check. ‘Annihilate your foes’ is a suggestion of your own inborn valour.” With these words on his lips the lion king closed his eyes never to open them more. In that hour the sun too was reft of the brilliance which was his life. Ashamed as it were of his own sinfulness involved in the taking of the king’s life, he now bent low his face. As if scorched within by a fire of sorrow for the monarch’s decease, he assumed a coppery hue. Slowly, slowly he descended from the heavens, as if in compliance with earthly usage to pay a visit of condolence. As though to present an oblation of water to the king, he drew nigh to the western ocean. As soon as the water was presented, his thousand hands became red as if burnt in sorrow’s flame. With radiance thus subdued, as if the mighty emperor’s death had brought on a deep distaste for life and colour, the light-coroneted god entered the hollows of the mountain caves.... ... At that hour the feudatories and townsmen headed by the family priest, taking upon proffered shoulders the bier of this Shivi-like king, bore him to the river Sarasvati, and there upon a pyre

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befitting an emperor solemnly consumed all but his glory in the flames. As for my lord Harsha, through all that night, terrible as Bhimarathi, he sat with the princes sleepless on the uncushioned ground, surrounded by all the connections of the royal household in a dumb sorrowing company like an universal assemblage of living beings; while his tears rained down like an outpouring of the flood of affection which, heated by sorrow’s fire, flowed only within. In his heart be thought:—‘Now that my father is taken away, the world of the living has reached its goal:a chasm sunders the progress of mankind; the eldorados of desire are laid desolate, veiled are the portals of joy....’ ... the moon dropped upon the verge of the western ocean’s sand isle. Gradually his light paled, as if through the smoke which spread from the king’s flaming pyre; in his heart appeared a blackness as of a dark scar due to his burning sorrow for the king:chastened in mien as it were by the agony depicted in the moon-like faces of the departed monarch’s whole harem, and distracted with yearning for his already vanished Rohini, he drew nigh to his setting. Like my lord the king, the sun had mounted the heavens, and like the sovereignty, the course of night had changed. ... On the same day the king’s favourite servants, friends, and ministers, whose hearts were held tight by the bonds of his many virtues, went forth, and in spite of the remonstrances of tearful friends, abandoned their loved wives and children. Some consigned themselves to precipices:some stationed themselves at holy fords in the neighbourbood. Some in agony of heart spread couches of grass, and quieted their great sorrow by abstinence from food:some, beside themselves with passionate grief, plunged like moths into the flame. Some, in whose hearts burnt a fire of fierce pain, took vows of silence and sought refuge on the mount of snows:some to cool their heat lay on couches of twigs along the Vindhya slopes, where wild elephants bedewed their bodies with a shower bath from their trunks. Some, indisposed for a courtier’s life, abandoned the gratifications within their reach, and lived on a limited diet in vacant forest openings:some by feeding on air became emaciated hermits, rich only in virtue. Some assumed red robes and studied the system of Kapila in the mountains:some, tearing off their crest jewels, bound the ascetic’s knot upon their heads, and made Shiva their refuge:others by enveloping themselves in trailing pale-red rags displayed the bright afterglow of their love. Others again reached old age in sylvan hermitages, where the deer licked their forms with the ends of their tongues:others finally took vows, and roamed as shaven monks, bearing water in pots and in the hollows of their eyes, both equally red in colour and rubbed by their hands. My lord Harsha’s condition underwent no change. Wild with grief for his father, he turned away from all the avocations of life..., regarding glory as a curse, the earth a mortal sin, royalty a disease, pleasures serpents, home a hell, family ties a bondage, life an infamy, the body an infliction, health a blot, vigour a result of sin, food a poison, poison ambrosia, sandal a flame, love a saw, heartbreak a felicity. He was closely attended by young nobles of ancient houses, which had enjoyed the favour of the court for generations, venerable trusted advisers wearing an inherited dignity, old Brahmans versed in Shruti, Smriti and Itihasa, anointed counsellors of royal rank endowed with learning, birth and character, approved ascetics well trained in the doctrine of the Self, sages indifferent to pain and pleasure, Vedantists skilled in expounding the nothingness of the fleeting world, mythologists expert in allaying sorrow. Under their influence the prince was never allowed even in thought to follow the dictates of grief, and through their solicitations he gradually lost his distaste for food and the other dues of life....

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from KADAMBARI This practice which is called Anumarana is utterly fruitless. This is a path followed by the illiterate, this is manifestation of infatuation, this is a course of ignorance, this is an art of foolhardiness, this is short-sightedness, this is stumbling through stupidity, viz. that life is put an end to when a parent, brother, friend, or husband is dead. Life should not be ended, if it does not leave one of itself....

THE QURAN (traditional date c. 632–c. 650) Surahs 2.54, 2.154, 2.195, 2.207, 3.145, 3.169–70, 4.29–30, 4.66, 4.74–80, 9.111, 18.6

The Quran (meaning “recital” in Arabic) is the sacred scripture of Islam, and Muslims believe that it is the direct word of God given through the archangel Gabriel to the prophet Muhammad over a period of about 23years, from 610 until 632. The traditional biographies (the sira literature) of Muhammad’s (c. 570–632) life holds that he was born in Mecca to a poor but respected clan, Hashim, within the powerful and influential tribe of Quraish, and that he was orphaned by the age of six and raised by his uncle. Muhammad is said to have displayed an acute moral sensitivity at an early age. He later impressed a rich widow, Khadija, with his honesty and ability in managing her caravan business, and so she offered him marriage, which he accepted at the age of 25. They had six children, of whom only one daughter survived. Muhammad is said to have experienced his first revelation in about 610 while on retreat in a cave on Mount Hira outside Mecca. Hostilities were raised against him because of his preaching against the polytheism of the Meccans, and in 622, he led his people on the flight known as the hijra from Mecca to Medina. His armies attacked Mecca and repulsed a retaliatory siege; he eliminated his internal enemies, including all of the men in one of three Jewish clans in Medina, and forced the Meccans to surrender. According to tradition, Muhammad eventually became the most powerful leader in western Arabia and enforced the principles of Islam, giving unbelievers the choice between the sword and the Quran. He granted Jews and Christians comparative autonomy as “peoples of the Book,” whose revelations and prophets— Abraham, Moses, and Jesus Christ—he saw as anticipating himself. Muhammad’s social teachings emphasized economic justice and improving the situation of women, slaves, orphans, and the poor. The traditional accounts of Muhammad’s life are largely gleaned from the Prophet biographies, the sira, and the “sayings” of Muhammad or hadith [q.v.]. Muhammad preached what can be called an Abrahamic monotheism at the time of the Roman-Persian wars (603–630), a monotheism that Christians and Jews, among others, had interpreted according to their respective apocalyptic traditions. The developed tradition of Islam as it is known today is the work of religious scholars attempting to

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establish a viable, standardized form of written Arabic, living in the sophisticated, cosmopolitan Iraq of the 800s and 900s—a period during which wine poetry, Greek philosophy, and the Sassanian royal cult were freely celebrated, and in which foreigners had arrived from lands subject to the Conquest— projecting, in the view of some scholars, a utopian religious community back into the earlier deserts of Arabia. The Quran consists of 114 surahs or chapters of unequal length. According to tradition, secretaries and early followers of Muhammad began to collect his revelations before his death in 632, writing verses on palm leaves, bark, pieces of wood, parchment or leather, flat stones, and the shoulder blades of camels. Several hundred companions are said to have memorized the Quran by heart. Also according to modern research, the Quran was arranged and given diacritical marks definitively sometime in the mid 700s by Arabic scholars, and the final text was completed in the early 800s. The dates cited here for the Quran’s composition, c. 632–c. 650, are the traditional ones. The Quran, together with the hadith, contains the central theological and political doctrines of Islam. These texts differ in that the Quran, in its original Arabic form, is believed to be the direct word of God; first-person expressions such as “We” or “Our” refer to the voice of God, and Muslims accept the Quran as divinely authoritative and beyond fallibility or criticism. In Muslim belief, the Quran was revealed by God to Muhammad in the Arabic language; translations thus introduce interpretation and the possibility of error. In distinction from the Quran, the traditions or hadith are a collection of Muhammad’s sayings and actions. The hadith are understood as foundational, but they are not held to be divine revelation. The main tenets of Islam established in the Quran hold that there is only one true God, Allah, and one true religion, Islam; that all human beings were created by Allah and belong to him; that all persons must make an accounting of their lives at a final judgment and will be rewarded with eternal happiness in a paradise among gardens and fountains, or punishment by fire in hell, predicated on their actions in this life; and that Allah sends prophets—the most important being Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad—to lead all people to moral truth. The ideal of human endeavor is to “reform the earth” by leading people beyond their petty, self-interested, self-deceptive characters to altruism that involves concern for the poor, dedication to the benefit of humanity, and loyalty to the cause of Allah. In the Quranic view, resurrection and judgment are central. Death is the transition to a new life; it is willed by God, who has appointed a time for each individual to die. Repentance for sin is possible, but only immediately after the evil has been committed; deathbed repentance after a life of sin does not prevent punishment in the afterlife. The Quran is taken to be the source of a divine proscription against self-killing, a prohibition that is not questioned or debated by most followers of Islam. Suicide is clearly forbidden in shari`ah, Islamic law. However, there is no fully explicit text in the Quran (understood as Muhammad’s recitation of the word of God), which states this prohibition unambiguously, though the prohibition is fully clear in Muhammad’s own sayings preserved in the hadith. Sunni or majority Islam has no central dogmatic authority; hence, the passages from the Quran presented here are those variously taken by different teachers, commentators, and scholars to pertain to the question of suicide. Several of the surahs (e.g., 2.154, 3.169–70, 2.07, 4.74, and 9.111) appear to distinguish martyrdom from suicide, although martyrs have knowingly and voluntarily sacrificed their lives; some hold that martyrs go directly to Paradise after death. Surah 2.54 describes a rebuke from Moses to the people of Israel in which he commands them to seek forgiveness from the Creator and, in some translations, “kill yourselves” (Mawdudi), or in others,

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“slay the culprits among you” (Dawood). This passage is usually interpreted as an order to righteous Israelites to put to death those of their own number who, engaging in the cult of cow-worship absorbed from the Canaanites, had made a calf (the “Golden Calf ”) and actually worshipped it. Some scholars read it as an exhortation to commit a form of spiritual destruction of the self by conquering the inner passions or lusts, appropriately translated “let each one of you slay the evil propensities of his mind” (Khan). Still others see the passage as referring to a different kind of “spiritual suicide,” a death through severe grief or self-condemnation. Surah 2.195, “make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction,” forms part of a mandate requiring charitable spending to help the poor. According to one interpreter, the direct meaning of the verse is that to fail to give alms to the poor will eventually mean self-destruction of the community; according to another, it holds that self-interest rather than charity in spending will lead to one’s ruin both in this world and in the next:“do not push yourselves into ruin with your own hands” (Khan). Surah 3.145, translated as “It is not given to any soul to die except with the leave of Allah, and at an appointed time” (Mawdudi), “No one can die except by Allah’s leave, that is a decree with a fixed term” (Khan), or “No one dies unless God permit. The term of every life is fixed” (Dawood), is cited by some contemporary commentators as grounds for the prohibition of suicide. However, it is not universally so cited; the passage is also understood to hold that it is not possible to hasten or escape death so that it occurs at a time earlier or later than that preordained for it by God. Surah 4.29 is the passage most often cited as the authoritative proscription against self-killing in Islamic scripture, “do not kill yourselves (anfusakum)” or “do not destroy yourselves,” yet its direct meaning appears to refer to mutual killing (anfus- is understood as reciprocal), that is, “do not kill each other,” a reading that is supported by the context. This, according to a contemporary source, is taken to assume that “a Muslim’s killing another Muslim is tantamount to killing himself or herself.” Surah 4.30, “If any do that...” can be read as either complementary to 4.29 or independent; if the former, it means that to consume one’s own wealth in vanity (or to consume the property of others wrongfully) is to court one’s own destruction, since this corrupts society; if the latter, it can mean either that one should not kill others or that one should not kill oneself. Surahs 4.66 and 4.74 may seem to condone suicide if it is committed with a worthy objective. Surah 4.66 concerns the possibility that followers of Islam might be required to “slay yourselves” (Mawdudi) or “kill yourselves in striving for the cause of Allah” (Khan) or “lay down your lives” (Dawood), though most Quranic commentators interpret the passage as a commandment to Muslims in general to be prepared to sacrifice their lives or seek death in jihad, “struggle in the cause of God” or holy war, and not as an appeal to individual suicide. Similarly, surah 4.74, about “those... who sell the life of this world for the hereafter,” appears to raise the issue of voluntary death sought in order to reach the afterlife—a matter that had also been an issue for early Christians. Some Quranic commentators understand this passage as concerning jihad [q.v., under Mutahhari], not suicide. Jihad is the only way a Muslim can—and is expected to—take and give life. The third interpretation of surah 2.54, above, is related by some scholars to the final surah, 18.6, “Thou wouldst only, perchance, fret thyself to death, following after them, in grief, if they believe not in this Message,” which some scholars believe hints that Muhammad might torment himself to death through grief over disbelief among his people:“Wilt thou grieve thyself to death for sorrow over them, if they believe not in this Discourse?” (Khan). These scholars have held that on several occasions during

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the prolonged period without revelation (the “Fatra,” lasting some 2½ to 3years) that followed his early divine inspirations, Muhammad—in desperation—ascended the highest hill near Mecca, intending to hurl himself from the top. Most scholars concur, however, that the passage was never intended to show that Muhammad would choose any form of suicide. Regardless of these differences in translation and interpretation of the various surahs, however, a belief in the divine unlawfulness of suicide became a part of Islamic theology early in its history, and the Quran is most often cited as the original source of this doctrine.

Sources Quran, tr. Yusuf Ali, online at http://www.quran.com/ See also http://www.sacredtexts.org/isl/quran/ index.htm. The Yusuf Ali English text is based on the 1934 book, The Holy Qur-an, Text, Translation and Commentary (published in Lahore, Cairo, and Riyadh), a version widely used because it is a clear, modern, and eloquent translation by a well-respected Muslim scholar. The English text was revised in 2009–10 to more closely match the source book. Explanatory material and/or alternative translations in the bibliographical note from N. J. Dawood, tr., The Koran, London: Penguin Books, 5th rev. ed., 1990; Sayyid Abul A’la Mawdudi, Towards Understanding the Qur’an, tr. and ed. Zafar Ishaq Ansari, Leicester, UK: The Islamic Foundation, Vols. I-III, 1988, 1989, 1990; Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, tr., The Quran, London and Dublin: Curzon Press, 1972, 2nd ed., rev., 1975; and from Fazlur Rahman, Health and Medicine in the Islamic Tradition: Change and Identity, New York: Crossroad, 1987. Jane Dammen McAuliffe, The Cambridge Companion to the Qur’an. Cambridge University Press, 2006. References concerning surah 18.6 from Franz Rosenthal, “On Suicide in Islam,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 66(1946):239–259, p. 240, and Theodor Nöldeke, Geschichte des Qorans, Part I, Hildesheim, DE: Georg Olms, 1961, pp. 84–85. Material also supplied by Peter von Sivers and Lois A. Giffen.

SURAHS 2.54 And remember Moses said to his people:“O my people! Ye have indeed wronged yourselves by your worship of the calf:So turn (in repentance) to your Maker, and slay yourselves (the wrong-doers); that will be better for you in the sight of your Maker.” Then He turned towards you (in forgiveness):For He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.

2.154 And say not of those who are slain in the way of Allah:“They are dead.” Nay, they are living, though ye perceive (it) not.

2.195 And spend of your substance in the cause of Allah, and make not your own hands contribute to (your) destruction; but do good; for Allah loveth those who do good.

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2.207 And there is the type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of Allah:And Allah is full of kindness to (His) devotees.

3.145 Nor can a soul die except by Allah’s leave, the term being fixed as by writing. If any do desire a reward in this life, We shall give it to him; and if any do desire a reward in the Hereafter, We shall give it to him. And swiftly shall We reward those that (serve us with) gratitude.

3.169 Think not of those who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord;

3.170 They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah:And with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them (in their bliss), the (Martyrs) glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve.

4.29 O ye who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves in vanities: But let there be amongst you traffic and trade by mutual good-will:Nor kill (or destroy) yourselves:for verily Allah hath been to you Most Merciful!

4.30 If any do that in rancour and injustice, soon shall We cast them into the Fire:And easy it is for Allah.

4.66 If We had ordered them to sacrifice their lives or to leave their homes, very few of them would have done it:But if they had done what they were (actually) told, it would have been best for them, and would have gone farthest to strengthen their (faith);

4.74 Let those fight in the cause of Allah Who sell the life of this world for the hereafter. To him who fighteth in the cause of Allah—whether he is slain or gets victory—Soon shall We give him a reward of great (value).

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4.75 And why should ye not fight in the cause of Allah and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)? Men, women, and children, whose cry is:“Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help!”

4.76 Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject Faith fight in the cause of Evil:So fight ye against the friends of Satan:feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan.

4.77 Hast thou not turned Thy vision to those who were told to hold back their hands (from fight) but establish regular prayers and spend in regular charity? When (at length) the order for fighting was issued to them, behold! a section of them feared men as—or even more than—they should have feared Allah:They said:“Our Lord! Why hast Thou ordered us to fight? Wouldst Thou not grant us respite to our (natural) term, near (enough)?” Say:“Short is the enjoyment of this world:the Hereafter is the best for those who do right:Never will ye be dealt with unjustly in the very least!”

4.78 “Wherever ye are, death will find you out, even if ye are in towers built up strong and high!” If some good befalls them, they say, “This is from Allah”; but if evil, they say, “This is from thee” (O Prophet). Say:“All things are from Allah.” But what hath come to these people, that they fail to understand a single fact?

4.79 Whatever good, (O man!) happens to thee, is from Allah; but whatever evil happens to thee, is from thy (own) soul, and We have sent thee as a messenger to (instruct) mankind. And enough is Allah for a witness.

4.80 He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah:But if any turn away, We have not sent thee to watch over their (evil deeds).

9.111 Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise):they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain:a promise binding on

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Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Qur’an:and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded:that is the achievement supreme.

18.6 Thou wouldst only, perchance, fret thyself to death, following after them, in grief, if they believe not in this Message.

HADITH: THE SAYINGS OF MUHAMMAD (7th–9th centuries)

The hadith, speech or tradition, record the Sunnah (“practice”), the Prophet Muhammad’s sayings and actions, which Muslims believe were memorized and recorded by his companions and handed down from generation to generation. Many hadith are found in the biography (sira) of Muhammad. The historical tradition of hadith literature (sing. hadith, pl. hadith [collective sense] or hadiths, Arabic ahadith) includes procedures for comparative assessment among various reporters intended to identify lines of transmission and to differentiate genuine hadith from weak or fabricated ones. While the legal content of the Quran [q.v.] is very limited, the hadith establish precedents for regulating nearly every aspect of life. Unlike the Quran, which is believed to be the word of Allah revealed to Muhammad during his prophetic life, the hadith are not considered infallible; however, followers of Islam consider them to be genuine records of Muhammad’s sayings and actions, and regard them as indispensable and as a source almost as fundamental as the Quran. Sunni and Shi’a Muslims recognize different hadith canon collections, for which authentication is based on differing methodologies of evaluation and analysis of the chains of transmission. Western scholarship beginning in the 19th century tended to argue that many of the hadith accounts are not always actual reports of Muhammad’s sayings but instead represent opinions of the early generations of Muslim thinkers, subsequently attributed to the Prophet during the long period of oral transmission spanning some 200years following Muhammad’s death, but the compilers did place great stress on the reliability of the chain of transmission. The hadith were finally collected, selected, and published in six standard editions between the 9th and 11th centuries. The six compilers of hadith include Muhammad ibn Isma`il al-Bukhari (810–870) and Muslim al-Hajjaj (817/821–875). Both Bukhari and Muslim were traditionists, and both were the sons of traditionists, themselves collectors and memorizers of sayings of the Prophet. Bukhari is said to have begun to study traditions at the age of ten and to have spent 40years traveling the Muslim world collecting hadith from every learned man; he claimed to have “heard traditions from over 1,000 shaykhs.” Muslim inherited a large fortune from his father and travelled widely in order to learn hadith. Of the hadith presented here, some are voiced by Bukhari, some by Muslim, and some agreed on by both.

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Hadith narrated by Ad-Dahhak, Abu Huraira, and Sahl As-Sa`idi are also included. Bukhari is said to be the most reliable of all the compilers; it is said that he selected 7,397, or 2,762 without repetitions, out of 600,000 traditions and memorized 220,000 of them; he recorded each after ablution and prayer, and carefully scrutinized them for consistency with other narrators. Later in life, Bukhari was expelled by the governor of the region for refusing to give the governor’s children preferential treatment by educating them at home; in the wake of this hostility, Bukhari is said to have been overheard praying one night that God might take him, and he died within the month. The Quran itself does not contain an explicit, incontrovertible prohibition of suicide. The hadith, however, do; both Bukhari and Muslim make fully explicit the unlawfulness of suicide. As Franz Rosenthal pointed out, by the time of Muhammad, both Judaism and Christianity had developed negative attitudes toward suicide, and it is likely that Muhammad would have shared these. Bukhari reports a saying of Muhammad’s that the person who commits suicide is punished eternally by a perpetual, forced repetition of the act of self-killing. Suicide is equated in severity with the sin of murder. Muslim gives an account of self-mutilation resulting in death. No distinction is made between suicide associated with what would now be recognized as mental illness and suicide associated with principle, religious zeal, military self-sacrifice, jihad, or the like. These hadith are the clearest canonical sources for the Islamic belief that suicide is a violation of divine law.

Sources Hadith, Al-Bukhari, Vol. 2, Book 23, nos. 445, 446; Vol. 4, Book 52, no. 297; Vol. 5, Book 59, nos. 514, 515, 518; Vol. 8, Book 73, nos. 73, 126; Book 76, no. 500; Book 77, nos. 603, 604; Book 78, no. 647; see e.g. Sunnah.com. Muslim, from Mishkat-ul-masabih, Vol. II, ch. 25, section 6, paragraph 1178, tr. al-Haj Maulana Fazlul Karim, Lahore, Pakistan: Law Publishing Company, 1938, material in bibliographic note, pp. 18–19. Some modifications in translation. See also Franz Rosenthal, “On Suicide in Islam,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 66 (1946): 239–259, p. 240.

FROM HADITH: THE SAYINGS OF MUHAMMAD Suicide The Holy Prophet said: Whoso kills himself with a thing will be punished on the Resurrection day therewith. From this as well from the traditions of this section, it appears that the sin of suicide is not less than that of murder. He will permanently reside in hell, as he killed a soul which remembered Allah, or which, if alive, would have remembered Him. Suicide is the result of pangs and overwhelming anxieties which are in turn so many boons for leading a man to Paradise. Abu Hurairah, reported that the Messenger of Allah said: Whoso hurls himself down from a mountain and thus kills himself will be in Hell hurling himself down therein, abiding therein and being accommodated therein for ever; whoso takes poison and thus kills himself, his poison

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will be in his hand; he will be tasting it in Hell, always abiding therein, and being accommodated therein forever; and whoso kills himself with a weapon, his weapon will be in his hand; he will be plunging it into his belly in Hell, abiding therein forever. —Agreed Same reported that the Messenger of Allah said: whoso strangles himself to death, will strangle himself in Hell; and whoso shoots it, will shoot himself in Hell. —Bukhari Jundub b. Abdallah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: there was a man among those who were before you who received an wound. It became unbearable. Then he took a knife and cut off his hand therewith. Whereupon blood began to ooze out, so much so that he died. The Almighty Allah said: My servant hastened himself to Me and so I made Paradise unlawful for him. —Agreed Jaber reported that Tufail b. Amer and al-Dausi migrated to the Messenger of Allah when he had migrated to Medina, a man of his tribe also migrated with him. Then he fell ill and became exasperated. He took a scissor of his and cut off therewith his hand-joints. His hands bled till he died. Tufail b. Amer saw him in his dream. He was handsome in appearance, but he found him with his hands covered. He asked him: What did your Lord do with you? He said: He has forgiven me owing to my migration to His Prophet. He asked: what is with me that I see your hands covered? He said: It was said to me: What you yourself destroyed will not be cured for you. Tufail narrated it to the Messenger of Allah who said: O Allah, forgive his two hands. —Muslim

Funerals Volume 2, Book 23, Number 445: Narrated Thabit bin Ad-Dahhak:

The Prophet said, “Whoever intentionally swears falsely by a religion other than Islam, then he is what he has said, (e.g. if he says, ‘If such thing is not true then I am a Jew,’ he is really a Jew). And whoever commits suicide with piece of iron will be punished with the same piece of iron in the Hell Fire.” Narrated Jundab the Prophet said, “A man was inflicted with wounds and he committed suicide, and so Allah said: My slave has caused death on himself hurriedly, so I forbid Paradise for him.” Volume 2, Book 23, Number 446: Narrated Abu Hurairah:

The Prophet said, “He who commits suicide by throttling shall keep on throttling himself in the Hell Fire (forever) and he who commits suicide by stabbing himself shall keep on stabbing himself in the Hell-Fire.”

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Fighting for the Cause of Allah Volume 4, Book 52, Number 297: Narrated Abu Hurairah:

We were in the company of Allah’s Apostle in a ghazwa, and he remarked about a man who claimed to be a Muslim, saying, “This (man) is from the people of the (Hell) Fire.” When the battle started, the man fought violently till he got wounded. Somebody said, “O Allah’s Apostle! The man whom you described as being from the people of the (Hell) Fire fought violently today and died.” The Prophet said, “He will go to the (Hell) Fire.” Some people were on the point of doubting (the truth of what the Prophet had said) while they were in this state, suddenly someone said that he was still alive but severely wounded. When night fell, he lost patience and committed suicide. The Prophet was informed of that, and said, “Allah is Greater! I testify that I am Allah’s Slave and His Apostle.” Then he ordered Bilal to announce amongst the people: ‘None will enter Paradise but a Muslim, and Allah may support this religion (i.e. Islam) even with a disobedient man.’

Military Expeditions Led By The Prophet Volume 5, Book 59, Number 514: Narrated Sahl b. Sa’d As-Sa’idi

Allah’s Apostle (and his army) encountered the pagans and the two armies, fought and then Allah’s Apostle returned to his army camps and others (i.e. the enemy) returned to their army camps. Amongst the companions of the Prophet there was a man who could not help pursuing any single isolated pagan to strike him with his sword. Somebody said, “None has benefited the Muslims today more than so-and-so.” On that Allah’s Apostle said, “He is from the people of the Hell-Fire certainly.” Aman amongst the people (i.e. Muslims) said, “I will accompany him (to know the fact).” So he went along with him, and whenever he stopped he stopped with him, and whenever he hastened, he hastened with him. The (brave) man then got wounded severely, and seeking to die at once, he planted his sword into the ground and put its point against his chest in between his breasts, and then threw himself on it and committed suicide. On that the person (who was accompanying the deceased all the time) came to Allah’s Apostle and said, “I testify that you are the Apostle of Allah.” The Prophet said, “Why is that (what makes you say so)?” He said “it is concerning the man whom you have already mentioned as one of the dwellers of the Hell-Fire. The people were surprised by your statement, and Isaid to them, ‘I will try to find out the truth about him for you.’ So Iwent out after him and he was then inflicted with a severe wound and because of that, he hurried to bring death upon himself by planting the handle of his sword into the ground and directing its tip towards his chest between his breasts, and then threw himself over it and committed suicide.” Allah’s Apostle then said, “A man may do what seem to people as the deeds of the dwellers of Paradise but he is from the dwellers of the Hell-Fire and another may do what seem to the people as the deeds of the dwellers of the Hell-Fire, but he is from the dwellers of Paradise.”

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Volume 5, Book 59, Number 515: Narrated Abu Hurairah:

We witnessed (the battle of ) Khaibar. Allah’s Apostle said about one of those who were with him and who claimed to be a Muslim. “This (man) is from the dwellers of the Hell-Fire.” When the battle started, that fellow fought so violently and bravely that he received plenty of wounds. Some of the people were about to doubt (the Prophet’s statement), but the man, feeling the pain of his wounds, put his hand into his quiver and took out of it, some arrows with which he slaughtered himself (i.e. committed suicide). Then some men amongst the Muslims came hurriedly and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Allah has made your statement true so-and-so has committed suicide.” The Prophet said, “O so-and-so! Get up and make an announcement that none but a believer will enter Paradise and that Allah may support the religion with an unchaste (evil) wicked man.” Volume 5, Book 59, Number 518: Narrated Sahl b. Sa’d As-Sa’idi:

During one of his ghazawat, the Prophet encountered the pagans, and the two armies fought, and then each of them returned to their army camps. Amongst the (army of the) Muslims there was a man who would follow every pagan separated from the army and strike him with his sword. It was said, “O Allah’s Apostle! None has fought so satisfactorily as so-and-so (namely, that brave Muslim).” The Prophet said, “He is from the dwellers of the Hell-Fire.” The people said, “Who amongst us will be of the dwellers of Paradise if this (man) is from the dwellers of the Hell-Fire?” Then a man from amongst the people said, “I will follow him and accompany him in his fast and slow movements.” The (brave) man got wounded, and wanting to die at once, he put the handle of his sword on the ground and its tip in between his breasts, and then threw himself over it, committing suicide. Then the man (who had watched the deceased) returned to the Prophet and said, “I testify that you are Apostle of Allah.” The Prophet said, “What is this?” The man told him the whole story. The Prophet said, “A man may do what may seem to the people as the deeds of the dwellers of Paradise, but he is of the dwellers of the Hell-Fire and a man may do what may seem to the people as the deeds of the dwellers of the Hell-Fire, but he is from the dwellers of Paradise.”

Good Manners and Form Volume 8, Book 73, Number 73: Narrated Thabit b. Ad-Dahhak:

(who was one of the companions who gave the pledge of allegiance to Prophet underneath the tree (Al-Hudaibiyah)) Allah’s Apostle said, “Whoever swears by a religion other than Islam (i.e. if somebody swears by saying that he is a non-Muslim e.g., a Jew or a Christian, etc.) in case he is telling a lie, he is really so if his oath is false, and a person is not bound to fulfill a vow about a thing which he does not possess. And if somebody commits suicide with anything in this world, he will be tortured with that very thing on the Day of Resurrection; and if somebody curses a

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believer, then his sin will be as if he murdered him; And whoever accuses a believer of kufr (disbelief ), then it is as if he killed him.” Volume 8, Book 73, Number 126: Narrated Thabit b. Ad-Dahhak:

The Prophet said, “Whoever swears by a religion other than Islam (if he swears by saying that he is a non-Muslim in case he is telling a lie), then he is as he says if his oath is false and whoever commits suicide with something, will be punished with the same thing in the (Hell) fire, and cursing a believer is like murdering him, and whoever accuses a believer of kufr (disbelief ), then it is as if he had killed him.”

To Make the Heart Tender Volume 8, Book 76, Number 500: Narrated Sa’d b. Sahl As-Sa’idi:

The Prophet looked at a man fighting against the pagans and he was one of the most competent persons fighting on behalf of the Muslims. The Prophet said, “Let him who wants to look at a man from the dwellers of the (Hell) Fire, look at this (man).” Another man followed him and kept on following him till he (the fighter) was injured and, seeking to die quickly, he placed the blade tip of his sword between his breasts and leaned over it till it passed through his shoulders (i.e., committed suicide). The Prophet added, “A person may do deeds that seem to the people as the deeds of the people of Paradise while in fact, he is from the dwellers of the (Hell) Fire: and similarly a person may do deeds that seem to the people as the deeds of the people of the (Hell) Fire while in fact, he is from the dwellers of Paradise. Verily, the (results of ) deeds done, depend upon the last actions.” Volume 8, Book 77, Number 603: Narrated Abu Hurairah:

We witnessed along with Allah’s Apostle the Khaibar (campaign). Allah’s Apostle told his companions about a man who claimed to be a Muslim, “This man is from the people of the Fire.” When the battle started, the man fought very bravely and received a great number of wounds and got crippled. On that, a man from among the companions of the Prophet came and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Do you know what the man you described as of the people of the Fire has done? He has fought very bravely for Allah’s Cause and he has received many wounds.” The Prophet said, “But he is indeed one of the people of the Fire.” Some of the Muslims were about to have some doubt about that statement. So while the man was in that state, the pain caused by the wounds troubled him so much that he put his hand into his quiver and took out an arrow and committed suicide with it. Off went some men from among the Muslims to Allah’s Apostle and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Allah has made your statement true. So-and-so has committed suicide.” Allah’s Apostle said, “O Bilal! Get up and announce in public: None will enter Paradise but a believer, and Allah may support this religion (Islam) with a wicked man.”

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Divine Will Volume 8, Book 77, Number 604: Narrated Sahl b. Sa’d as-Sa’idi:

There was a man who fought most bravely of all the Muslims on behalf of the Muslims in battle (ghazwa) in the company of the Prophet. The Prophet looked at him and said, “If anyone would like to see a man from the people of the Fire, let him look at this (brave man).” On that, a man from the People (Muslims) followed him, and he was in that state i.e., fighting fiercely against the pagans till he was wounded, and then he hastened to end his life by placing his sword between his breasts (and pressed it with great force) till it came out between his shoulders. Then the man (who was watching that person) went quickly to the Prophet and said, “I testify that you are Allah’s Apostle!” The Prophet asked him, “Why do you say that?” He said, “You said about so-and-so, ‘If anyone would like to see a man from the people of the Fire, he should look at him.’ He fought most bravely of all of us on behalf of the Muslims and I knew that he would not die as a Muslim (Martyr). So when he got wounded, he hastened to die and committed suicide.” There-upon the Prophet said, “A man may do the deeds of the people of the Fire while in fact he belongs to the people of Paradise, and he may do the deeds of the people of Paradise while in fact he belongs to the people of Fire, and verily, (the rewards of ) the deeds are decided by the last actions (deeds).”

Oaths and Vows Volume 8, Book 78, Number 647: Narrated Thabit b. Ad-Dahhak:

The Prophet said, “Whoever swears by a religion other than Islam, is, as he says; and whoever commits suicide with something, will be punished with the same thing in the (Hell) Fire; and cursing a believer is like murdering him; and whoever accuses a believer of disbelief, then it is as if he had killed him.”

YA’QUB AL-QIRQISANI (c. 890–c. 960) from The Book of Lighthouses and

Watchtowers (expanded in Archive)

Ya’qub al-Qirqisani was a biblical scholar and a recorder of religious and secular law, writing during a period in which Jewish life had been heavily influenced by the rise of Islam and the centralization of Muslim rule in the caliphate at Baghdad. Al-Qirqisani was a member of the Karaite

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sect, a Jewish group living in what is now Iran. The Karaites (“karah” comes from the same root as “scripture”) differed from most Jewish communities by refusing to acknowledge the postbiblical tradition of canonical inclusions into the Talmud based on oral sources, the tradition known as that of the “Two Torahs.” Instead, in the view of Anan, the sect’s founder, oral law merely reflected the interpretations of various rabbis, not divine word. By not recognizing the oral law as one of the Two Torahs, the Karaites also challenged the Talmud, and some commentators have compared them to Protestant Christian reformers inasmuch as Anan and his disciples held, respectively, both that they had the right to confront the text directly and that they could interpret it themselves. Al-Qirqisani was the most significant chronicler of the code of Karaite law, and in a chapter of his work Kitab al-Anwar wa’l-Maraqib (The Book of Lighthouses and Watchtowers), he approaches the issue of suicide not from a moral point of view, but exclusively from the point of view of legality according to Old Testament law. Based on the scriptural evidence that he cites in his argument, al-Qirqisani concludes that a person “may not commit suicide under any circumstances.”

Source Ya’qub al-Qirqisani, “On Suicide” from The Book of Lighthouses and Watchtowers, ed. and tr. Leon Nemoy, The Journal of Biblical Literature, Philadelphia:Vol. 57, No. 4, December 1938, pp. 414–420.

from THE BOOK OF LIGHTHOUSES

AND WATCHTOWERS

On Suicide This is an outlandish subject, and scarcely any writer has anything to say about it. The reason Iam mentioning it is that Ihave seen that some people who pretend to be adherents of pure reason maintain that suicide is permissible and that he who kills himself will incur no punishment [in future life], inasmuch as he has caused harm to no one [else], but has merely injured his own self, which is his [own] property [to do with as he pleases]. I say, therefore, that there is no difference between him who kills himself and him who kills someone else. Should someone ask, why do I say this, I would answer, because the Scripture says [Ex 20:13] “thou shalt not kill,” in a general way, without specifying one object [of killing] to the exclusion of another. In the same manner the Lord has said to Noah [Gen 9:6] “He that sheddeth the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.” The command [to kill the shedder of blood] and the prohibition [of killing] having thus been given in a general way, we have no right to apply them to specific instances [only], or to make any exceptions, saving what God himself has excepted, either in the very place where He has prohibited [killing], or in another place. But—the inquirer might continue—thou canst not deny that the expression “Thou shalt not kill” was intended to mean “Thou shalt not kill anyone else,” and that one’s own self is not included in this prohibition, just as the prohibition of destroying someone else’s property does not imply that one may not [lawfully] waste away one’s own possessions, since one is surely

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allowed to give away as much as he wishes of his own wealth, while at the same time one may not give away property belonging to someone else.... ... S‌ince the command “Thou shalt not kill” is a general one, Ihave no right to turn it into a specific one, unless Ihave proof which makes it specific and shows clearly that suicide is permissible. Now inasmuch as Ifind nothing of the kind, and perceive no proof of the permissibility of suicide, the prohibition must remain in the state of generality, rendering suicide unlawful and making no distinction between it and murder of someone else. Moreover, Isee that the Scripture says [Ez 33:4] “If the listener should hear the sound of the trumpet and take no precaution, and the sword should come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his [own] head,” meaning that if one is warned of the sword, but uses no caution and is consequently killed, his blood is upon his own head. Now the latter expression is the same as the one used in the verse [ Jos 2:19] “And it shall be that whosoever shall issue from the doors of thine house into the outside, his blood [shall be] upon his [own] head,” signifying that he himself shall be held responsible for his own blood, which proves that a man may be held accountable for his own blood, but since retribution cannot possibly be visited upon him in this world, the intention must be that he shall be called to account for it in the next. It is evident, therefore, that suicide is unlawful, and that the suicide is no different from the murderer. *** ... As for the Scripture’s failure to condemn Saul for taking his own life, that is not proof whatsoever, for Saul had committed other sins without being condemned by the Scripture for them. Rather did the Scripture ascribe his perdition to [only] two of his [many] transgressions, to wit [I Chr 10:13], “For the Lord’s command which he hath not observed,” referring to the affair of the Amalekites, and [loc. cit.] “As well as inquiring of the soothsayer and seeking [guidance from him].” It mentions [in this connection] neither his assassination of the Gibeonites, nor his killing of the priests, nor his seeking the life of David, so that even if it were certain that he is free of sin in the matter of his suicide, this would not prove that all suicides are free of guilt. For, as a matter of fact, Saul killed himself because he knew that he was doomed to die anyway, but fearing that his enemies might torture him he chose to take his own life before his enemies would [be able to] take it, or inflict upon him that which is worse than death, and that is the [true] reason for his suicide having been held free of blame. As for the verse “Do ye not cheat one another” and the passage concerning lost property, both of these have been bound up with specific things, to wit:“Do ye not cheat one” is followed by [the specifying word] “another,” so as not to make the command a general one; likewise, the injunction regarding lost property has not been left in an indefinite form, but has been made specific by means of the expression “thy brother”; as a result, both regulations forbid the [respective] actions [only] as applied to someone other than thyself. In the matter of killing, however, the case is different, for the injunction there is a broad and general one, and has not been restricted to those other than thyself, as has been done in the preceding examples. The prohibition “ Thou shalt not kill” covers everyone, thyself as well as others than thyself. As for the passage “His blood [shall be] upon his [own] head,” it is followed by “But whosoever shall be with thee within thine house, his blood [shall be] upon us,” stating [clearly] that should anyone be killed within [Rahab’s] house, they [the Israelite spies] would accept responsibility for it, in accordance with their oath. We are to conclude therefrom that the foregoing “Whosoever shall issue from the doors of thine house, his blood

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shall be upon his [own] head” implies that such a person having been killed, is to be held accountable for his own blood. Another proof—to continue our reply—that suicide is forbidden is that fact, discussed in a foregoing chapter of our work, that if a man seeks the life of another man, the pursued is permitted to kill the pursuer [as a matter of self-defense]. Were the killing of another man [the only kind of killing that is] forbidden, while suicide were permitted, it would have been unlawful for me to save him whose killing is permissible [meaning myself ] by assassinating him whose killing is [otherwise] forbidden [meaning my pursuer]. Therefore, since the Scripture has permitted me to kill another man in order to preserve my [own] life [against his murderous designs], it is evident that the duty to save my [own] life and keep it from being lost is greater than the duty to refrain from killing someone else. Another proof are the Scriptural statements regarding people who in times of famine took to eating their [own] children, e.g. [Thr (Lamentations) 4:10] “The hands of merciful women have cooked [the flesh of ] their [own] children.” Should someone retort that this took place only after the children had died of starvation, he will have to be confronted with the story of the two women, one of whom accused the other before [king] Jehoram, saying [II Kings 6:29] “And she had concealed her son.” The [primary] source of these [accounts] is the Scriptural curse [Deut 28:53] “Thou shalt eat the fruit of thine [own] belly,”... a forecast of the trials which are to fall upon them and the dire necessity which is to force them to [do] such [awful things]. For it is said [Deut 28:56] “Even the tender and delicate woman amongst thee,” and the rest of the story, to the effect that there shall befall them such calamity, [such] want and destitution, that [even] tender and delicate women will be driven to eat their [own] afterbirths and their [own] newly-born children, yea, even while the children are yetalive. Another proof is that we find that some of the saintly Patriarchs, e.g. Job, Elijah and Jonah, have, on particular occasions, wished for death and have besought God, in time of [great] affliction, to grant it to them. Had they been permitted to take their own lives, they would have proceeded quickly to do so, and would have had no need to ask [God] for death... showing that a man may not kill himself, any more than he may kill someone else, there being no difference between the two [cases]. At this point one may ask:If it is unlawful for a man to take his own life, on the ground of the verse “Thou shalt not kill,” suppose he had committed a crime calling for capital punishment, is he permitted in such a case to commit suicide for that [particular] reason?... Moreover, the Scripture itself requires the execution of the murderer, the adulterer and the profaner of the Sabbath; therefore, if a man has committed one of these [capital] crimes, admit then that he may lawfully take his own life. Our answer to this is as follows:If the one who kills himself for the sake of his [grave] sin and his disobedience [to God’s commands] does so solely in order to seek God[‘s forgiveness] and to undo that which he has wrought, there is [at his disposal] that which is more efficacious than suicide and which might undo many [capital] sins, to wit, repentance, for his suicide merely wipes out one of his sins, whereas repentance would undo all of them. This being so, it is many degrees better for him to preserve his life in order to repent and come back to God, rather than take his own life, for by remaining alive it is within his power to perform various good deeds, such as would make his repentance doubly beneficial. Suicide, on the other had, can perform nothing of the sort. It is [clear], therefore, that he may not commit suicide under any circumstances.

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AHMAD IBN FADLAN (fl. 920s) from The Risala:By the River Volga, 922:Viking

Ship-Burial

Ahmad ibn Fadlan, a Muslim diplomat and secretary to an ambassador for the Caliph of Baghdad, was sent in 921 to the Khaganate of Bulgars along the Middle Volga. His account of his travels with the embassy, The Risala, describes his confrontation with a people called the Rus or Varangians, who were traders and marauders of Swedish origin and Viking ideals. “I have never seen more perfect physical specimens,” he says of the Rus, “tall as date palms, blond and ruddy; they wear neither tunics nor caftans, but the men wear a garment which covers one side of the body and leaves a hand free. Each man has an axe, a sword, and a knife and keeps each by him at all times.” Ibn Fadlan has been described as a keen observer and good narrator, and The Risala contains valuable ethnographic accounts of early Europe. In 922, Ibn Fadlan recorded sacrifices and mortuary customs among the Rus. Aleader has died; one of this man’s slave women volunteers to be killed and burned together with her master in the practice of ship burial. The voluntary death of a master’s slave will be echoed in later Norse sagas [q.v.], especially Gautrek’s saga, where a slave is “rewarded” for faithful service by being permitted to jump from the Family Cliff. What is at issue in these Viking practices that end in death, like those in many other cultures, is the sense in which they can be said to be voluntary and the degree to which the apparently free choices that lead to them are socially controlled.

Source Ibn Fadlan’s account quoted in Johannes Brøndsted, The Vikings, tr. Kalle Skov, Harmondsworth, UK:Penguin Books, 1965, pp. 301–305.

from THE RISALA:BY THE RIVER

VOLGA, 922:VIKING SHIP-BURIAL

I had been told that when their chieftains died cremation was the least part of their whole funeral procedure, and I was, therefore, very much interested to find out more about this. One day Iheard that one of their leaders had died. They laid him forthwith in a grave which they covered up for ten days till they had finished cutting-out and sewing his costume. If the dead man is poor they make a little ship, put him in it, and burn it. If he is wealthy, however, they divide his property and goods into three parts:one for his family, one to pay for his costume, and one to make nabid [probably a Scandinavian type of beer] which they drink on the day when the slave woman of the dead man is killed and burnt together with her master. They

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are deeply addicted to nabid, drinking it night and day; and often one of them has been found dead with a beaker in his hand. When a chieftain among them has died, his family demands of his slave women and servants:‘Which of you wishes to die with him?’ Then one of them says:‘I do’; and having said that the person concerned is forced to do so, and no backing out is possible. Even if he wished to he would not be allowed to. Those who are willing are mostly the slave women. So when this man died they said to his slave women:‘Which of you wants to die with him?’ One of them answered, ‘I do.’ From that moment she was put in the constant care of two other women servants who took care of her to the extent of washing her feet with their own hands. They began to get things ready for the dead man, to cut his costume and so on, while every day the doomed woman drank and sang as though in anticipation of a joyous event. When the day arrived on which the chieftain and his slave woman were going to be burnt, Iwent to the river where his ship was moored. It had been hauled ashore and four posts were made for it of birch and other wood. Further there was arranged around it what looked like a big store of wood. Then the ship was hauled near and placed on the wood. People now began to walk about talking in a language Icould not understand, and the corpse still lay in the grave; they had not taken it out. They then produced a wooden bench, placed it on the ship, and covered it with carpets of Byzantine dibag [painted silk] and with cushions of Byzantine dibag. Then came an old woman whom they call ‘the Angel of Death’, and she spread these cushions out over the bench. She was in charge of the whole affair from dressing the corpse to the killing of the slave woman. Inoticed that she was an old giant-woman, a massive and grim figure. When they came to his grave they removed the earth from the wooden frame and they also took the frame away. They then divested the corpse of the clothes in which he had died. The body, Inoticed, had turned black because of the intense frost. When they first put him in the grave, they had also given him beer, fruit, and a lute, all of which they now removed. Strangely enough the corpse did not smell, nor had anything about him changed save the colour of his flesh. They now proceeded to dress him in hose, and trousers, boots, coat, and a mantle of dibag adorned with gold buttons; put on his head a cap of dibag and sable fur; and carried him to the tent on the ship, where they put him on the blanket and supported him with cushions. They then produced nabid, fruit, and aromatic plants, and put these round his body; and they also brought bread, meat, and onions which they flung before him. Next they took a dog, cut it in half, and flung the pieces into the ship, and after this they took all his weapons and placed them beside him. Next they brought two horses and ran them about until they were in a sweat, after which they cut them to pieces with swords and flung their meat in to the ship; this also happened to two cows. Then they produced a cock and a hen, killed them, and threw them in. Meanwhile the slave woman who wished to be killed walked up and down, going into one tent after the other, and the owner of each tent had sexual intercourse with her, saying:‘Tell your master Idid this out of love for him.’ It was now Friday afternoon and they took the slave woman away to something which they had made resembling a doorframe. Then she placed her legs on the palms of the men and reached high enough to look over the frame, and she said something in a foreign language, after which they took her down. And they lifted her again and she did the same as the first time. Then they took her down and lifted her a third time and she did the same as the first and the second times. Then they gave her a chicken and she cut its head off and threw it away; they took the hen and threw it

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into the ship. Then Iasked the interpreter what she had done. He answered:‘The first time they lifted her she said:“Look! Isee my father and mother.” The second time she said:“Look! Isee all my dead relatives sitting round.” The third time she said:“ Look! Isee my master in Paradise, and Paradise is beautiful and green and together with him are men and young boys. He calls me. Let me join him then!” ’ They now led her towards the ship. Then she took off two bracelets she was wearing and gave them to the old woman, ‘the Angel of Death’, the one who was going to kill her. She next took off two anklets she was wearing and gave them to the daughters of that woman known by the name ‘the Angel of Death’. They then led her to the ship but did not allow her inside the tent. Then a number of men carrying wooden shields and sticks arrived, and gave her a beaker with nabid. She sang over it and emptied it. The interpreter then said to me, ‘Now with that she is bidding farewell to all her women friends.’ Then she was given another beaker. She took it and sang a lengthy song; but the old woman told her to hurry and drink up and enter the tent where her master was. When Ilooked at her she seemed completely bewildered. She wanted to enter the tent and she put her head between it and the ship. There the woman took her head and managed to get it inside the tent, and the woman herself followed. Then the men began to beat the shields with the wooden sticks, to deaden her shouts so that the other girls would not become afraid and shrink from dying with their masters. Six men entered the tent and all of them had intercourse with her. Thereafter they laid her by the side of her dead master. Two held her hands and two her feet, and the woman called ‘the Angel of Death’ put a cord round the girl’s neck, doubled with an end at each side, and gave it to two men to pull. Then she advanced holding a small dagger with a broad blade and began to plunge it between the girl’s ribs to and fro while the two men choked her with the cord till she died. The dead man’s nearest kinsman now appeared. He took a piece of wood and ignited it. Then he walked backwards, his back towards the ship and his face towards the crowd, holding the piece of wood in one hand and the other hand on his buttock; and he was naked. In this way the wood was ignited which they had placed under the ship after they had laid the slave woman, whom they had killed, beside her master. Then people came with branches and wood; each brought a burning brand and threw it on the pyre, so that the fire took hold of the wood, then the ship, then the tent and the man and slave woman and all. Thereafter a strong and terrible wind rose so that the flame stirred and the fire blazed still more. I heard one of the Rus folk, standing by, say something to my interpreter, and when Iinquired what he had said, my interpreter answered:‘He said:“You Arabs are foolish.” ’ ‘Why?’ Iasked. ‘Well, because you throw those you love and honour to the ground where the earth and the maggots and fields devour them, whereas we, on the other hand, burn them up quickly and they go to Paradise that very moment.’ The man burst out laughing, and on being asked why, he said:‘His Lord, out of love for him, has sent this wind to take him away within the hour!’ And so it proved, for within that time the ship and the pyre, the girl and the corpse had all become ashes and then dust. On the spot where the ship stood after having been hauled ashore, they built something like a round mound. In the middle of it they raised a large post of birch-wood on which they wrote the names of the dead man and of the king of the Rus, and then the crowd dispersed.

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ABU HAYYAN AL-TAWHIDI (c. 923–1023) from Borrowed Lights:On Suicide (expanded in Archive)

Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi, probably of Persian origin, was born in or around Baghdad sometime between 922 and 932. He was a man of letters and a scholar, influenced by Sufism and the neoPlatonic philosopher Abu Sulayman. Although said to be a difficult personality, he was considered a master of Arabic style and one of the major thinkers at the conclusion of the formation of Islamic thought. Abu Hayyan’s most famous work, compiled late in his life, was al-Muqabasat, “Borrowed Lights,” a collection of 106 philosophical conversations providing a glimpse into the intellectual milieu of 10th-century Baghdad. The Muqabasat includes a lengthy discussion of the suicide of an impoverished and socially ostracized Muslim, articulating arguments both for and against it. According to Franz Rosenthal, despite the strong prohibition of self-killing in Islamic thought, this passage in al-Tawhidi’s work shows that the idea of suicide was justified to some thinkers in 10th-century Arabia. It is the only such detailed discussion of suicide that has been preserved in the extant Arabic literature.

Source Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi, from al-Muqabasat, quoted in Franz Rosenthal, “On Suicide in Islam,” Journal of the American Oriental Society, 66(1946):239–259, text from pp. 249–250, citing as source, ed. Hasan asSandubi, Cairo, 1928–29.

from BORROWED LIGHTS: ON SUICIDE Recently we saw what happened to a learned Šayh. This Šayh had come to live in very reduced circumstances. Therefore, people began to avoid him more and more, and his acquaintances no longer wanted to have anything to do with him. This went on for a while until one day he entered his home, tied a rope to the roof of his room, and hanged himself, thus ending his life. When we learned about the affair, we were shocked and grieved. We discussed his story back and forth, and one of those present said:What an excellent fellow! He acted like a man! What a splendid thing he did of his own free will! His action indicates magnanimity and a great staunchness of mind. He freed himself from a long drawn-out misery and from circumstances which were unbearable, on account of which nobody wanted to have anything to do with him, and which brought him great privations and a steady reduction of his means. Everybody to whom he addressed himself turned away from him....

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While that person thus defended the action of the suicide, someone else replied: If that Šayh escaped from the dreadful situation which you have just described, without getting himself into another situation which might be considerably more frightful and of a much longer duration than that which he had been in, it would indeed be correct to say that he did a splendid thing. What noble fellow, one might then say, he was, considering the fact that he found strength and the means to commit such a deed! One would have to admit that every intelligent person should feel compelled to do the same thing, to imitate him and to arrive at the same decision of his own free will. However, if he had learned from the religious law—no matter whether the ancient or the new one—that such and similar actions are forbidden, it would be necessary to say that he did something for which God has ordained quick punishment and disgrace in the painful fire of Hell. My God! He could surely have learned from any intelligent and judicious, learned and educated person, from anybody who has some intelligence and knows the elements of ethics... that such actions are forbidden and that even the commission of much lesser deeds is prohibited. Why did he not suspect himself and scrutinize his motives and consult someone who might have given him good advice?... He ought to have known that it is necessary to avoid any connection with such an action, which is detested by the intellect, considered sinful by tradition and shunned with horror by nature; for the generally known injunctions of the religious laws and the consensus of all in each generation and region show that suicide is forbidden and that nothing should be done which might lead to it. The reason for the prohibition of suicide is that suicide might be committed under the influence of ideas and hallucinations which would not have been supported by a clear mind and would not have occurred to a person in the full possession of his mental faculties. Later on, in the other world, the person who committed suicide under such circumstances would realize the baseness of his action and the great mistake he made; then, he cannot repair, correct, or retract what he did. Even if compliance with the demands of the intellect, or information derived from both intellect and revelation would have required him to commit such a deed, he should not have handed himself over to destruction. He should not have of his own free will done something which is despised by persons who are discerning and ingenious, religious and noble. He should not have broken established customs, opposed entrenched opinions, and usurped the rights of nature. But all the more so should he have refrained from his deed since intellect and speculation have decided, without leaving the slightest doubt, that man must not separate those parts and limbs that have been joined together (to form his body); for it is not he who has put them together, and it is not he who is their real owner. He is merely a tenant in this temple for Him Who made him dwell therein and stipulated that in lieu of the payment of rent for his dwelling he take care of its upkeep and preservation, its cleaning, repair and use, in a manner which would help him in his search after happiness in both this world and the next world. If an individual’s aspirations are limited to gathering provisions for his journey to the abode of righteousness, he can be certain to reach his goal and to stay there. There he will find, all at the same time, plenty of good things, continuous rest, permanent beatitude, and ever-present joy; there will be no indigence or need, no damage or loss, no sadness, or grief, no failure or difficulties. This will be the reward of an acceptable way of life and of a long

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practice of sublime human qualities, as well as a belief in the truth, propagation of righteousness, and kindness toward all creatures. If an individual lives in a manner contrary to this, the permanent misery which he will have to endure and from which he will not be able to escape will be correspondingly great.

JETSUN MILAREPA (c. 1052–c. 1135) from Songs of Milarepa (expanded in Archive)

Milarepa was a major figure in Tibetan Buddhism and one of Tibet’s most famous yogis and poets. His writings, often referred to as the Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, are canonical Mahayana Buddhist texts. Milarepa was born Mila Thöpaga to a prosperous family, but when his father died and his uncle and aunt took the family’s wealth, Milarepa left home to study sorcery; he engaged in a series of revenge actions against his thieving relatives. Repenting of his violent deeds, he sought guidance under the Lama Marpa. Milarepa is said to have been the first man to achieve Vajradhara (complete enlightenment) within one lifetime. This brief selection, spoken in the voice of Milarepa (then still known as Thöpaga), refers to his misdeeds and his suicidal regret for them, as well as Marpa’s angry discipline. It captures the assertion by another Lama present at the time, Ngogpa, of the basis for Buddhism’s rejection of suicide.

Source W. Y. Evans-Wentz, ed., Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa. A Biography from the Tibetan, Part II, ch. 5, London:Oxford University Press, 1928, pp. 126–128. Footnotes deleted.

from SONGS OF MILAREPA One day during a feast given to some of his disciples from the most distant parts and to the members of his own family, Lāma Marpa sat, with a long staff by his side, looking with fierce eyes at Lāma Ngogpa, who was one of those present. After a time, pointing at him with his finger, he said, “Ngogdun Chudor, what explanation hast thou to give in the matter of thy having conferred Initiation and the Truths upon this wicked person, Thöpaga?” And, as he spoke, he kept casting glances at the stick. Lāma Ngogpa was terrified. “Precious Guru,” he stammered, “Thy Reverence enjoined me under thine own hand and seal to initiate Thöpaga. Along with the letter, Thy Reverence

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sent Naropa’s garlands and rosary of rubies as a token of its genuineness, and Iobeyed Thy Reverence’s command. In this Ihave nothing with which to reproach myself; so be pleased to abate Thy Reverence’s displeasure with me.” As he spoke, he kept looking round about uneasily. Marpa then turned his angry finger on me, and asked, “Where didst thou get these things?” By this time Ifelt as if my heart were being torn out of my body, and was in such a state of terror that Icould scarcely articulate. All trembling, Ifaltered out that the Lady Mother had given them to me. At that, Marpa jumped up abruptly from his seat and made towards his wife apparently with intent to belabour her with the staff. But she, apprehensive of such a thing, had risen and moved herself some distance from him. She now ran into the chapel and shut the door. The Lāma made several attempts to open it, but, failing, came back and resumed his seat, calling out, “Thou, Ngogdun-Chudor, who hast been doing something thou wert not asked to do, Icommand thee to go and bring me Naropa’s garlands and rosary instantly.” This said, he wrapped up his head in his mantle, and so remained. Lāma Ngogpa bowed, and retired immediately to get the articles required. As soon as he came out, I, having run out of Marpa’s presence at the same time as the lady, saw him from a corner, where Isat weeping; and Iprayed him to take me with him. But he said, “If Itake thee again without the Guru’s express command, the outcome will only be a similar scene, which will be painful to us both. Remain here for the present. If our Guru refuse to be gracious to thee, Iwill then do what lieth in my power to help thee?” Then I rejoined, “On account of my much evil-doing, not only do I myself suffer, but Iinvolve thee and my Reverend Mother in a share of my troubles. Ihave lost all hope of obtaining the Doctrine in this life. Day by day Iam only heaping up one great sin upon another. It is much better that Icut short this life. All Iask of thee is that by thy grace thou procure that my next birth shall be among [well-endowed] human beings, and be a birth in which Ishall have the opportunity to obtain the Truths.” I turned away, intending to commit suicide on the spot, but Lāma Ngogpa, bursting into tears, caught hold of me and said, “Brave Grand Sorcerer, do not so! Our Mystic Doctrine, which is the essence and ultimate meaning of the Blessed Conqueror’s injunctions, declareth that all our various bodily principles and faculties are divine. If we presume to close their present career before their natural period [of dissolution], we incur the guilt of killing the divine in ourselves, and must face the due punishment for the same. There is no greater sin than suicide. In the Sūtras, too, suicide is spoken of as a most heinous sin. Understand this well, and abandon all thought of self-slaughter. After all, our Guru may still be pleased to confer the Truths upon thee. But, even if he do not, there will surely be found some one who will give thee them.” Thus did Ngogpa seek to comfort me. Other of the disciples also sympathized with me, some running in to see if Marpa were yet in a mood to be addressed with safety, and some sitting down by me and trying to bring me solace. But either my heart was made of iron, or else the time had come for it to break, so acute were my sufferings. It was because of my having committed such terribly wicked deeds in the earlier part of my life, that now Ihad to suffer such excruciating and indescribable tortures at the very outset of my search for a Faith and Doctrine to emancipateme.’

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At the hearing of this narration, none present was able to withhold tears of sympathy with the narrator; and some there were who even swooned away with excess of emotion. This is the story of the Second Meritorious Act of Milarepa, which treateth of his chastening and his purification from sin by means of trials and tribulations, both bodily and mental.

ABU HAMID MUHAMMAD AL-GHAZALI (1056–1111) from Revival of the Religious Sciences (expanded in Archive)

A native of Khorasan, of Persian origin, the Muslim theologian, sufi mystic, and philosopher AbuHamid Muhammad al-Ghazali is one of the great figures of Islamic religious thought, as well as a critical figure in the debates over the preservation of classical Greek and Roman thought during the Dark Ages in the Christian West. Al-Ghazali taught at in Baghdad between 1091 and 1095, but, allegedly suffering from a nervous illness that made it physically impossible for him to lecture (“God put a lock unto my tongue,” he wrote in his autobiography), he gave up his teaching position in order to live a life of mystical asceticism. He describes his spiritual crisis: One day Iwould determine to leave Baghdad and these circumstances, and the next day change my mind.... The desires of this world pulled at me and entreated me to remain, while the voice of faith cried out “Go! Go! Only a little of your life remains, yet before you there lies a lengthy voyage. All the knowledge and works that are yours today are but eye service and deceit. If you do not prepare now for the Afterlife, then when shall you do so?”

Al-Ghazali embarked on a two-year period of wandering, teaching, and writing. He traveled to Damascus on the pretext of making a pilgrimage, then to Jerusalem, finally making the hajj or Pilgrimage in 1096 as he pursued the Sufi path of self-purification and a quest for direct knowledge of God. Al-Ghazali’s extensive writings include The Just Mean in Belief, written before his wanderings, and The Revival of the Religious Sciences, written during them. The latter shows a distrust of scholastic theology and intellectualism. In The Precious Pearl, a reworking of Book 40, al-Ghazali describes the four categories of persons who will be questioned in the grave by interrogating angels and affected by personifications of their good and bad deeds:the most learned and pious, the ulama, who are allowed into the Garden after questioning; those who did good works but were not fully spiritually advanced are made to gaze upon Hell before being released into the Garden; those who have succumbed to temptations at death, waywardness, or doubt are punished through the intermediate time they spend in grave; and finally the profligates, those unable to answer even the first of the angels’ questions, “Who is your Lord?”—their punishment in the grave is the

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most severe. The first selection here, a short passage from Book 26 of the Revival of the Religious Sciences, affirms Islam’s rejection of suicide and describes two forms of suicide or para-suicidal activity that are unacceptable:suicide motivated by a desire to avoid suffering and to reach heaven, and the delayed or “slow suicide” that results from extreme asceticism and self-mortification. The second selection, from Book 40 of the Revival, “The Remembrance of Death,” describes the Angel of Death asking Muhammad if he may enter Muhammad’s house and thus take him; the Angel gives Muhammad the choice of whether to die now.Muhammad replies that he is ready to go, that is, that he is willing to die. Book 40 also describes “the most perfect of delights” that is the reward of martyrdom in the afterlife; martyrs are rewarded with entrance to the Garden immediately after death. It portrays a man already in Heaven weeping, because he can only be slain for God’s sake once, but wishes he could be martyred many more times than this.

Sources Al-Ghazali, The Revival of the Religious Sciences. Book 26 from Al-Ghazali, Al-Ghazali’s Ihya’ ulum al-Din (Revitalisation of the Sciences of Religion), abridged by Abd el Salam Haroun, rev. and tr. Dr. Ahmad A. Zidan, Vol. 1, Cairo: Islamic Inc. Publishing and Distribution, 1997, pp. 394– 397. Book 40 from Al-Ghazali, The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife. Kitab dhikr al-mawt wa-ma ba'dahu, Book XL of The Revival of the Religious Sciences, Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din, tr. T. J.Winter, Cambridge, UK: The Islamic Texts Society, 1989, pp. 65–67, 128–129; quotation in biographical note p.xvii. See also Jane Idleman Smith and Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection, Albany, NY:State University of NewYork Press, 1981, pp. 43–45. Comments from Salman Bashier.

from THE REVIVAL OF THE RELIGIOUS

SCIENCES

The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife. On the Death of the Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace), and of the Rightly-guided Caliphs after Him ... And ‘A’isha said (may God be pleased with her), ‘When the day of the Emissary of God’s death came (may God bless him and grant him peace), the people saw an improvement in him at the day’s beginning, and the men went apart from him to their homes and tasks rejoicing, leaving him with the women. While we were there we were in a state of hope and joyfulness the likes of which we had never known. And then the Prophet of God said, “Go out, away from me; this Angel seeks leave to enter.” At this, everyone but myself left the house. His head had been in my lap, but now he sat up and Iretired to one side of the room. He communed with the Angel at length, and then summoned me and returned his head to my lap, bidding the women enter. “I did not sense that that was Gabriel, upon him be peace,” Isaid. “Indeed, ‘A’isha,” he replied. “That was the Angel of Death, who came to me and said, ‘I am sent by God (Great and Glorious is He!), Who has commanded me not to enter your house without your consent. So if you should withhold it from me Ishall go back, but should you give it me, then

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shall Ienter. And He has enjoined me not to take your spirit until you so instruct me; what, then, might your instructions be?’ ‘Hold back from me’, Isaid, ‘until Gabriel has come to me, for this is his hour’.” And ‘A’isha [continued, and] said, (may God be pleased with her), ‘So we came into the presence of a matter for which we had neither answer nor opinion. We were downcast; it was as if we had been struck by a calamity about which we could do nothing. Not one of the people of the Household spoke because of their awe in the face of this affair and because of a fear which filled our depths. At his hour, Gabriel came (I felt his presence) and gave his greeting. The people of the Household left, and he entered, saying, “God (Great and Glorious is He!) gives you His greetings, and asks how you are, although He knows better than you your condition; yet He desires to increase you in dignity and honour, and to render your dignity and honour greater than that of all creatures, that this may be a precedent [sunna] for your nation.” “I am in pain,” he said. And the Angel replied, “Be glad, for God (Exalted is He!) has willed to bring you to that which He has made ready for you.” “O Gabriel,” he said. “ The Angel of Death asked for permission to enter!” and he told him of what had transpired. And Gabriel said, “O Muhammad! Your Lord longs for you! Has He not given you to know His purpose for you? Nay, by God, never has the Angel of Death sought permission of anyone, no more than is his permission to be sought at any time. It is only that your Lord is making perfect your honour while He longs for you.” “Then do not leave until he comes,” he said. Then he allowed the women to enter, and said, “Fatima, draw near.” She leaned over him and he whispered in her ear. When she raised her head again she was weeping, and could not bear to speak. Then he said again, “Bring your head close,” and she leaned over him while he whispered something to her. Then she raised her head, and was smiling, unable to speak. What we saw in her was something most astonishing. Afterwards we questioned her about what had happened, and she said, “He told me, ‘Today I shall die,’ so I wept; then he said, ‘I have prayed to God to let you be the first of my family to join me, and to set you with me,’ so I smiled.” ‘Then she brought her two sons close by him. He drew in their fragrance. Then the Angel of Death came, greeted him, and asked leave to enter. He granted it to him, and the Angel said, “What are your instructions, O Muhammad?” “Take me now to my Lord,” he said. “Yes indeed,” he responded, “on this day of yours. Truly your Lord longs for you. He has not paused over any man as He has paused over you, nor has He ever forbidden me to enter without permission upon anyone else. But now, your hour is come.” And he went out. Then came Gabriel, who said, “Peace be upon you, O Emissary of God! This is the final time I shall ever descend to the earth. Revelation is folded up, the world is folded up, and I had on the earth no business save with you. Upon it now I have no purpose save being present with you, after which I shall remain in my place.” . . . And ‘A’isha [continued, and] said, “I would say to him when he came round, “May my father and mother be your ransom, and myself and all my family! How your forehead perspires!” And he said, “O ‘A’isha, the soul of the believer departs with his sweat, while that of the unbeliever departs through his jaws like that of the donkey.” At this, we were afraid and sent for our families.

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‘The first man to come not having seen him was my brother, whom my father had sent. But the Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) died before the arrival of anyone....

On the True Nature of Death, and What the Dead Man Undergoes in the Grave Prior to the Blast on the Trump Said Ya’la ibn al-Walid, ‘I was walking one day with Abu’l-Darda’, and asked him, “What do you like to happen to those you like?” “Death,” he replied. “But if one has not died yet?” Iasked, and he answered, “That his progeny and wealth should be scanty. Ifeel a liking for death because it is liked only by the believer, whom it releases from his imprisonment. And Ilike one’s progeny and wealth to be scanty because these things are a trial, and can occasion familiarity with the world, and familiarity with that which must one day be left behind is the very extremity of sorrow. All that is other than God, His remembrance, and familiarity with Him must needs be abandoned upon one’s death.” For this reason ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr said, ‘When his soul, or spirit, emerges, the believer is as a man who was in a prison, from which he was released and travelled about and took pleasure in the world.’ This [Narrative just] mentioned refers to the state of the man who withdrew from the world, being wearied of it and finding no pleasure in it save that which is the remembrance of God (Exalted is He!), and who was kept by the distractions of the world from his Beloved, and who was hurt by the vicissitudes of his desires. In death he found a release from every harmful thing, and won unrestricted solitude with his Beloved, who was ever his source of consolation. How right it is that this should be the pinnacle of bliss and beatitude! The most perfect of delights is that which is the lot of the Martyrs who are slain in the way of God. For when they advance into battle they cut themselves off from any concern with the attachments of the world in their yearning to meet God, happy to be killed for the sake of obtaining His pleasure. Should such a man think upon the world he would know that he has sold it willingly for the Afterlife, and the seller’s heart never inclines to that which has been sold. And when he thinks upon the Afterlife, he knows that he had longed for it, and has now purchased it. How great, then, is his rejoicing at that which he has bought when he comes to behold it, and how paltry his interest in what he has sold when from it he takes his leave! For fighting in the battlefield is a cause for dying in such a state of bliss . . . which the martyr attains as soon as his breath is cut off . . . Concerning this said Ka’b, ‘In Heaven there is a weeping man who, when asked, “Why do you weep, although you are in Heaven?” replies, “I weep because I was slain for God’s sake no more than once; I yearn to go back that I might be slain many times’.”

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TOSAFOT (12–14th centuries) On Avodah Zarah 18a On the Torah: Concerning Genesis Rabbah (Genesis 9:5)

Tosafot, meaning “additions,” refers to a body of explanatory and critical remarks made by a group of Talmudic scholars known as the tosafists, who wrote in France and Germany from the late 11th–12th through the 14th centuries, during the time of the Crusades, and while Spanish Jewry in the 14th and 15th centuries was subject to the Inquisition and the Expulsion. The first recorded tosafists, Meir ben Samuel of Ramerupt and Judah ben Nathan, were sons-in-law to the famous 11th-century Talmudic scholar Rashi; it is debated whether the Tosafot were written as direct commentary on the Talmud [q.v., under Babylonian Talmud] or as a supplement to Rashi’s commentary. Another of the first recorded tosafists, Rashi’s grandson Jacob ben Meir Tam, was the leading figure in the French school of Tosafot. Many schools of Tosafot followed in the next two centuries; the commentaries they produced were gathered together to form a significant contribution to rabbinic literature. They were intended for those well advanced in the study of Talmud, and their seeming simplicity presupposes extensive familiarity with a complex prior tradition. Two tosafist selections are included in this volume. The first is a commentary on the description of the death of Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon in Avodah Zarah, a tractate of the Babylonian Talmud [q.v.]. In the commentary, the tosafist states a general conclusion that despite Rabbi Chanina’s pronouncement that he should endure death by fire rather than “harming himself ” {i.e., hastening his death by inhaling the flames}, it is proper to commit suicide to avoid sinning {i.e. apostasy} under great duress not only is such an act permissible, but in these circumstances, it ought to be done. The tosafist approvingly cites as precedent the suicides of the 400 boys and girls who drowned themselves to escape forced prostitution. The second passage presented here is a 13th-century commentary from the Tosafot on the Torah [q.v., under Hebrew Bible], which reflects some of the arguments relating to the brief statements in Genesis Rabbah [q.v.] regarding the prohibition of suicide and some possible exceptions. In this passage, the tosafist raises questions about suicide and martyrdom, including opposing views about whether allowing oneself to be martyred or actively killing oneself in times of persecution are rightful acts. Some later commentators, such as Luria [q.v.] will argue no; others, like Margolioth [q.v.], appear to say yes, and the question raised here remains a pressing one throughout the later Jewish tradition.

Source Tosafot:On Avodah Zarah 18a; on Genesis 9:5, tr. Baruch Brody.

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ON AVODAH ZARAH 18A R. Tam said: In those cases in which they are afraid that idolaters may force them to sin by tortures that they will not be able to withstand, then it is a mitzva to harm themselves (i.e., commit suicide), as in the case of the young people taken captive to be used as prostitutes who threw themselves into the sea.

ON THE TORAH: CONCERNING GENESIS RABBAH (GENESIS 9:5) This means that I might think that even people like them [Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah] who gave themselves to martyrdom may not kill themselves if they were afraid that they could not stand the test. “But” tells me that in times of persecution one may allow oneself to be killed and one may kill oneself. The same with Saul. . . . And it is from here that those who killed the children in the time of persecution brought a proof [to justify their action]. Others prohibit the practice. They explain [the remarks of Genesis Rabbah] as follows: I might think that this prohibition applies even to Chananyah and his friends who are already sentenced to death. We are told otherwise by “but.” Even they, however, may not kill themselves. . . . Saul acted against normative opinion. . . . There was one rabbi who killed many children in the time of persecution because he was afraid that they would be forcibly apostasized. A second rabbi who was with him was very angry and called him a murderer. He [the first rabbi] paid no attention. . . . Afterwards, the decree was lifted and if he had not killed the children, they would have lived.

HENRY DE BRACTON (c. 1210–1268) from On the Laws and Customs of England Where a Man Commits Felony Upon His Own Person

Henry de Bracton (Henricus de Brattona or Bractona) was an English jurist, judge, and important ecclesiastical figure in the 13th century. He was born in Bratton Clovelly, though the exact date is unknown, and was most likely educated at Oxford before becoming an itinerant judge in 1245. He was later appointed to a judgeship in the king’s court and became archdeacon of Barnstable in 1263. He also served as chancellor of Exeter Cathedral and in 1265, according to legend, he was made chief justiciar of England by King Henry III.

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Bracton is known principally for his association with the lengthy Latin work De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae, or On the Laws and Customs of England, the first systematic and comprehensive treatment of English law. The work was never actually completed, and recent scholars have thrown serious doubt on the claim that it was originally written by Bracton, suggesting instead that most of the book was written in the 1220s and 1230s. Bracton appears to have been the last owner of the manuscript and a redactor rather than the original author. On the Laws was based largely on the combination of Roman and canon law that was taught in universities at the time, the ius commune, and it established a written authority for existing common law. The work became the standard for many later treatises on law in England, and it was not until Blackstone [q.v.] in the 18th century that an attempt was made again to systematize the entire body of English law. On the Laws delineates the various legal treatments of cases involving suicide, interpreting self-killing as a felony committed against oneself. The work makes a series of fine distinctions based on the circumstances of and motivation for the act of suicide, though many of these were later lost in the often wholesale denunciation of suicide as felo de se, or “felon of himself,” freely spoken of as “self-murder.” On the Laws attempts to distinguish between suicides committed to avoid legal penalty for a previous felony—in these cases the perpetrator is assumed guilty—and those in situations of depression (“weariness of life”) and intolerable physical pain. It also interprets what are now called “dyadic” suicides, those suicides intended to affect another person, as felonies where the intent was to injure. Penalties for suicide variously involve forfeiture of inheritance and/or moveable goods, penalties that primarily affect surviving family members or heirs. In cases of mental illness, however, the inheritance and property are preserved. This latter exception would be preserved in later centuries, though some of On the Laws’ fine distinctions concerning the intent and impact of suicide would be lost. Nevertheless, these laws, set in writing for the first time by On the Laws, established a legal approach to suicide and property that shaped English law for centuries to come.

Source Henrici de Bracton, Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae, Libri Quinque, ed. Sir Travers Twiss, London:Longman & Co., 1879, Book III, Of the Crown, Treatise II, ch. 31, pp.505, 507, 509. Online at http://heinonline.org.

from ON THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF

ENGLAND

WHERE A MAN COMMITS FELONY UP ON HIS OWN PERSON Of Pleas of the Crown Just as man may commit felony by slaying another so may he do so by slaying himself, the felony is said to be done to himself, as where one has been accused of some crime and been arrested [or outlawed] [as] for homicide or with the proceeds of theft, or apprehended in the course of some evil deed and crime, and kills himself in fear of the crime that hangs over him; he will have no heir, because the felony previously committed, the theft or homicide or the like, is thus convicted.

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But the goods of those who destroy themselves when they are not accused of a crime or taken in the course of a criminal act are not appropriated by the fisc [King’s treasury], for it is not the wickedness of the deed that is reprehensible but that the fear of guilt in the accused takes the place of confession. Therefore if they are accused of or apprehended in the course of a crime and kill themselves let their goods be confiscated, that is, the goods of those who know they deserve death, as where if they were found guilty of their crime they would be condemned to death or exile. But if a man slays himself in weariness of life or because he is unwilling to endure further bodily pain [as where he drowns himself or throws himself from a height, or kills himself in some other way,] he may have a successor, but his movable goods are confiscated. He does not lose his inheritance, only his movable goods, [because no felony is proved, nor is there any precedent crime for which he ought to be in peril of life or members]. [This is true] of those who drown or are crushed, who die by misadventure, but if a man hangs himself are his heirs not thereby disinherited? [No], according to some, nor does his wife lose her dower, except in the case above, because [of ] a felony done to himself he cannot be convicted. But if one lays violent hands upon himself without justification, through anger and ill-will, as where wishing to injure another but unable to accomplish his intention he kills himself, he is to be punished and shall have no successor, because the felony he intended to commit against the other is proved and punished, for one who does not spare himself would hardly have spared others, had he had the power. But what shall we say of a madman bereft of reason? And of the deranged, the delirious and the mentally retarded? Or if one labouring under a high fever drowns himself or kills himself? Quaere whether such a one commits felony de se. It is submitted that he does not, nor do such persons forfeit their inheritance or their chattels, since they are without sense and reason and can no more commit an injuria or a felony than a brute animal, since they are not far removed from brutes, as is evident in the case of a minor, for if he should kill another while under age he would not suffer judgment. [That a madman is not liable is true, unless he acts under pretense of madness while enjoying lucid intervals.]

THE NORSE SAGAS (c. 1220–c. 1400) from The Ynglinga Saga:Odin Marks Himself

with a Spear (in Archive only) from Gautrek's Saga:The Family Cliff (expanded in Archive) from Njal's Saga:The Burning of Njal (in Archive only)

The term “Viking” is a collective name for Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, and other Old Norse-speaking peoples of the period from roughly the 8th to 11th centuries, seafaring raiders who lived by plunder, conquest, and trade. Also called Northmen or Norsemen, many were expert shipbuilders and seamen, and their voyages ranged across some 5,000 miles from Scandinavia to England, France, Spain, Italy,

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North Africa, Greenland, and North America to the borders of Persia. Viking raids on European and other lands were ruthless and savage, and the Vikings were widely feared. The Viking Age was characterized by a period of a gradual consolidation of national political life, during which chieftains and notable families vied for power at all levels of government. The body of literature known as the Norse sagas documents these elaborate political intrigues, and both the sagas and occasional foreign observers like Ibn Fadlan [q.v.] provide insight into Viking religious and cultural practices. The term “saga” is borrowed from the Old Norse and an Icelandic word to designate an Old Norse prose narrative; it has been described as a combination of story, tale, and history. The oldest sagas are so-called apostles’ sagas and saints’ lives, based on anonymous translations from the Latin; other genres of saga include what are known as kings’ sagas, sagas about Icelanders, biographies of poets, sagas about knights, and sagas of ancient times, fictionalized accounts of the history of earlier Viking peoples from the year 874, the settlement of Iceland, to 1000, the conversion to Christianity, and beyond. The best of these works are considered the highest achievement of the medieval storytelling art in Northern Europe. The selections included here were all written in Iceland, and while they purport to describe earlier periods, they shed light on medieval Scandinavian cultures of the 13th and 14th centuries. Of particular interest is the tenuous distinction in Viking culture, apparent from the time of the practices described by Ibn Fadlan several centuries earlier on into high Viking culture, between voluntarily allowing oneself to die and voluntarily killing oneself. Either form of death could involve violence and so ensure entrance into Valhalla. Odin, the god of battle, knowledge, and poetry, appears as the chief pagan figure in medieval Scandinavian polytheism. Odin’s demands for sacrifice were immense and may have included animals, other human beings (e.g., slaves and enemies), and the self by suicide. Indeed, some have claimed he was known as the “Lord of the Gallows” or “God of the Hanged.” Both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda describe Odin’s self-destructive acts, including hanging himself, torture between two fires, and on different occasions, impaling himself for nine days and giving up an eye for knowledge. In a section known as the “Rune Poem,” the Poetic Edda relates:

Odin said: I know that Ihung on a windy tree   for nine long nights; pierced by a spear—Odin’s pledge—   given myself to myself. —Havamal Through this act of self-mutilation, it is said, Odin sought to discover the runes and, through them, become possessed of secret wisdom. The Ynglinga Saga, from which the first selection is taken, was compiled from earlier sources by Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241). It forms part of the Heimskringla, a history of the reigns of the Norse kings from the end of the 3rd century to 1177. The Ynglinga Saga tells the story of Odin— then a powerful king—as he lay dying in bed. According to this tradition, Odin marked his dying body with the point of a spear and thus prepared the way for the worthy to enter Valhalla, “the Hall of those who die by violence” (literally, “corpse hall”), a hall of feasting that courageous and mighty warriors enjoy after death. With Odin’s example before them, it was considered a disgrace for a man to die unwounded in bed, not in battle; death by violence was preferable. If a Viking followed

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Odin’s example by dying violently in battle or from a self-inflicted wound, a portion of the rejoicing at Valhalla might be his. The Valkyries chose the best and most heroic of the slain for Odin; the goddess Freyja, as the goddess of love, war and sex, also got to select half. Death in battle was the greatest honor and greatest qualification for Valhalla; suicide was next best, but those who died peacefully in their beds of old age or disease were excluded from Valhalla for all eternity. The second selection, taken from the first of the three tales that form Gautrek’s Saga (13th century), tells the story of King Gauti of Gautland, who becomes lost in a forest and is given shelter by a most peculiar family. This family claims Gillings Bluff as their “Family Cliff,” which serves to control family size and ensure a good death. By throwing themselves down from its height, family members will be able to die immediately without suffering from illness, misfortune, starvation, or infirmity, and in realizing a violent death, they will, they believe, be transported directly to Odin’s welcoming abode. When King Gauti arrives, the family perceives the intrusion and the expectation that they feed the guest as such an affront, they decide it is time to use the Family Cliff. They take a slave along as a “reward” for his faithful service. Adaughter survives, however, and bears King Gauti a son, Gautrekr, who later becomes king and plays a role in the second part of the saga. Njal’s Saga, or the “Story of Burnt Njal” (probably written between 1275–1290), the longest and most highly acclaimed of the Norse sagas, is the story of two warring families. In the selection presented here, a complex plot reaches its climax as Njal, a wise and peace-loving father, when he learns that he and his family are surrounded and outmanned by their enemies, allows himself, together with his wife, sons, and a grandson, to die violent deaths by fire rather than suffer a continued existence in shame. When Njal’s body is found afterward, his friend reports that his “... body and visage seem to me so bright that Ihave never seen any dead man’s body as bright as his.”

Sources Edda passage:The Poetic Edda, tr. Patricia Terry (Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press, 1962, p. 138); Ynglinga Saga, ch. 6–11, 44, Snorre Sturlason, Heimskringla: The Norsking Sagas, tr. Samuel Laing (1844), available online at http://omacl.org from the Online Medieval and Classical Library; Gautrek's Saga: Gautrek's Saga and Other Medieval Tales, trs. Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards (NewYork:NewYork University Press; London:University of London Press, 1968, chs. 1–2, pp. 25– 32); Njal's Saga, Sir George Webbe Dasent, The Story of Burnt Njal (London: J. M. Dent; NewYork: E. P.Dutton, 1911, chs. 20, 127–28, 131, pp. 34, 235–39, 246–47).

GAUTREK’S SAGA The Family Cliff This is the start of an amusing story about a certain King Gauti. He was a shrewd sort of man, very quiet, but generous and outspoken. King Gauti ruled over West Gotaland, lying east of the Kjolen Mountains between Norway and Sweden; the Gota River separates Gotaland from the Uplands.... King Gauti started out with his retainers and his finest hounds to hunt deer in the forest. The king sighted a fine stag and set his heart on getting it, so he unleashed his

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hounds and began chasing hard after it. This went on all day, and by evening he had lost all his fellow huntsmen and was deep into the forest. He realized that he wouldn’t be able to get back to them, as it was already dark and he’d covered so much ground during the day.... Gauti had been hunting so hard that he’d thrown off all his clothes except for his underwear. He’d lost his socks and shoes, and his legs and feet were badly torn by stones and branches. By now it was night and very dark, and he had no idea where he was going, so he stopped to listen if he could hear anything, and after a little while he heard the bark of a dog. Shortly afterwards he saw a small farmstead, and standing outside was a man with a woodcutter’s axe. When he saw the king coming closer, the man pounced on the dog and killed it. ‘This is the last time you’ll show a stranger the way to our house,’ he said. ‘It’s obvious, this man’s so big he’ll eat up all the farmer has once he gets inside. Well, that won’t ever happen if Ican help it.’ The king heard what the man said and smiled to himself. It occurred to him that he wasn’t at all suitably dressed for sleeping out; on the other hand, he wasn’t certain what sort of hospitality he would be offered if he waited for an invitation, so he walked boldly up to the door. The other man ran into the doorway with the idea of keeping him out, but the king forced his way past him into the house. He came into the living-room, where he saw four men and four women, but there wasn’t a word of welcome for the King Gauti. So he sat down. One of them, evidently the master of the house, spoke up. ‘Why did you let this man in?’ he asked the slave at the door. ‘I wasn’t a match for him,’ said the slave, ‘he was so powerful.’ ‘What did you do when that dog started barking?’ said the farmer. ‘I killed the dog,’ said the slave, ‘I didn’t want it to lead any more roughs like this to the house.’ You’re a faithful servant,’ said the farmer, ‘and Ican’t blame you for this awkward situation that’s cropped up. It’s difficult to find the proper reward for the trouble you’ve taken, but tomorrow I’ll repay you by taking you along with me.’ It was a well-furnished house and the people were good-looking but not particularly big. It struck the king that they were frightened of him. The farmer ordered the table to be laid, and food was served. When the king saw that he wasn’t going to be invited to share the meal, he sat down at the table next to farmer, picked up some food and settled down to eat. When the farmer saw this, he stopped eating himself and pulled his hat down over his eyes. Nobody said a word. After the king had finished eating, the farmer pushed up his hat and ordered the platters to be cleared from the table... ‘since there’s no food left there now,’ he said. The king lay down to sleep, and a little later on one of the women came up to him and said, ‘Wouldn’t you like me to give you a bit of hospitality?’ ‘Things are looking up now you’re willing to talk to me,’ said the king. ‘Your household seems a pretty dull one.’ ‘Don’t be surprised at that,’ said the girl.’ ‘In all our lives, we’ve never had a single visitor before. Idon’t think the master is too pleased to have you as a guest,’ ‘I can easily compensate him for all that he spends on my account,’ said the king, ‘as soon as Iget back to my own home,’ ‘I’m afraid this queer business will bring us something more from you than compensation,’ said the woman. ‘I’d like you to tell me what you and your family are called,’ said the king. ‘My father’s called Skinflint,’ she said, and the reason is, he’s so mean he can’t bear to watch his food stocks dwindle or anything else he owns. My mother’s known as Totra because she’ll

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never wear any clothes unless they’re already in tatters. She has the idea that this is very sound economics.’ ‘What are your brothers called?’ asked the king. ‘One’s called Fjolmod, another Imsigull, and the third Gilling,’ she said. ‘What about you and your sisters?’ asked the king. ‘I’m called Snotra, because I’m the most intelligent. My sisters are called Hjotra and Fjotra,’ she said. ‘There’s a precipice called Gillings Bluff near the farm, and we call its peak Family Cliff. The drop’s so great there’s not a living creature could ever survive it. It’s called Family Cliff simply because we use it to cut down the size of our family whenever something extraordinary happens, and in this way our elders are allowed to die straight off without having to suffer any illness. And then they can go straight to Odin, while their children are spared all the trouble and expense of having to take care them. Every member of our family is free to use this facility offered by the cliff, so there’s no need for any of us to live in famine or poverty, or put up with any other misfortunes that might happen to us. ‘I hope you realize, my father thinks it quite extraordinary, your coming to our house. It would have been remarkable enough for any stranger to take a meal with us, but this really is a marvel, that a king, cold and naked, should have been to our house. There’s no precedent for it, so my father and mother have decided to share out the inheritance tomorrow between me and my brother and sisters. After that they’re going to take the slave with them and pass on over Family Cliff on the way to Valhalla. My father feel’s that’s the least reward he could give the slave for trying to bar your way into the house, to let the fellow share this bliss with him. Besides, he’s quite sure Odin won’t ever receive the slave unless he goes with him.’ ‘I can see that you’re the most eloquent member of your family,’ said the king, ‘and you can depend on me. Itake it you’re still a virgin, so you’d better sleep with me tonight.’ She said that was entirely up to him. In the morning when the king woke up, Snotra came to see him off. ‘I’d like to ask you to come with me,’ said King Gauti, ‘I’ve an idea our meeting may have certain consequences. If you have a boy, call him Gautrek; it’ll remind you of me and all the trouble I’ve caused your family.’ ‘I think you’re pretty near to the mark,’ she said. ‘But Ishan’t be able to go along with you now, as it’s today my parents divide their property between me and my brothers and sisters. When that’s done my father and my mother intend to move on over Family Cliff.’ ... when Snotra came back to the house, there was her father squatting over his possessions. ‘What an extraordinary thing to happen,’ he said, ‘a king has paid us a visit, eaten us out of house and home and then taken away what we could least afford to lose. It’s clear to me that we won’t be able to stay together any longer as one family since we’re reduced to poverty. That’s why I’ve gathered together all my things. And now I’m going to divide them up between my sons. I’m going to take my wife along to Valhalla, and my slave as well, since it’s the least Ican do to repay him for his faithful service, to let him go there with me.’ ‘Gilling is to have my fine ox, to share with his sister Snotra. Fjolmod and his sister Hjotra are to have my bars of gold, Imsigull and his sister Fjotra all my cornfields. And now Iwant to implore you, my children, not to add to the family, so that you’ll be able to preserve what you’ve inherited.’ When Skinflint had said all he wanted, the family climbed up to Gillings Bluff. After that the young people helped their parents to pass on over Family Cliff, and off they went, merry and bright, on the way to Odin.

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Not long after, Snotra gave birth to a beautiful boy. She chose a name for him and called him Gautrek. ‘What a queer thing to happen,’ said Gilling, ‘there’s no hiding this any longer. I’m going to tell my brothers.’ ‘Our whole way of life is being threatened by this remarkable event,’ they declared. ‘This is indeed a serious violation of our rule.’

Gilling said: How stupid of me to move my hand and touch the woman’s cheek. It doesn’t take much to make a son if that’s how Gautrek was got. They said it wasn’t his fault, particularly since he’d repented and was wishing it had never happened. He said he’d willingly pass on over Family Cliff, and added that this little affair might be only a beginning. His brother told him to wait and see whether anything else would happen. Fjolmod used to herd his sheep all day, carrying the gold bars with him wherever he went. One day he fell asleep and was woken up by two black snails crawling over the gold. He got the idea that the gold had been dented where it was really only blackened, and he thought it greatly diminished. ‘It’s a terrible thing,’ he said, ‘to suffer such a loss. If this should happen once more I’ll be penniless when Igo to see Odin. So I’d better pass on over Family Cliff just to cover myself in case it happens again. Things have never looked so black, not since my father handed me out all this money.’ ... Then he and his wife went up to Gillings Bluff and passed on over Family Cliff. One day Imsigull was inspecting his cornfields. He saw a bird called the sparrow—it’s about the size of a tit. He thought the bird might have caused some serious damage, so he walked round the fields till he saw where the bird had picked a single grain from one of the ears. Then he said: ‘The sparrow’s done dire devastation

to Imsigull’s field of corn. He ravaged an ear And gobbled a grain; What grief to the kin of Totra! Then he and his wife passed joyfully on over Family Cliff, unable to risk such another loss. One day, Gautrek happened to be outside when he noticed the fine ox - the boy was seven years old at the time. It so happened that he stabbed the ox to death with a spear. Gilling was watching and said: ‘The young boy has killed that ox of mine, a deadly sinister omen.

Never again Shall such treasure be mine, no matter how old Igrow.

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‘This has really gone too far,’ he added. And then he climbed up Gillings Bluff and passed on over Family Cliff. Now there were only two of them left, Snotra and her son Gautrek. She made them both ready for a journey, and off they went all the way to King Gauti who gave his son a good welcome. So from then on Gautrek was brought up at his father’s court.

THOMAS AQUINAS (c. 1225–1274) from Summa Theologiae:Whether One is Allowed

to Kill Oneself

St. Thomas Aquinas, the Italian scholastic philosopher and theologian, and the principal theological authority within the Roman Catholic Church and progenitor of the tradition known as Thomism, was the son of an Italian count, related through his mother to the Hohenstaufen dynasty. At the age of five, Thomas was placed in the care of the monks at the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino to be educated as a monk and later to become abbot, but after eight years, political circumstances forced him to leave. He then studied in Naples. In complete opposition to his family’s wishes, he became involved in the Dominican order, finding its emphasis on intellectualism more suitable to his interests. In 1245, Thomas escaped the house arrest he had been kept under by his family to prevent him from joining the Dominican order. As a Dominican, he was sent to Naples, then Rome, and then Paris, where he studied under the German philosopher and theologian Albertus Magnus. Thomas then followed his teacher to Cologne, where he was reluctantly appointed to be magister studentium. Thomas returned to the University of Paris to study for a master’s degree in theology in 1252 and was named master of theology in 1256. He wrote prolifically until December 1273, when a visionary experience changed him. When his secretary asked him why he had ceased to write, he said, “All that Ihave written seems to me like so much straw compared to what Ihave seen and what has been revealed to me.” Thomas was greatly influenced not only by the Christian tradition but also by the works of Aristotle, which, preserved since antiquity in Arabic libraries, had remained mostly unknown in the Latin West until the end of the 12th century. In what is recognized as Thomas’s most important work, Summa Theologiae (1266–1273), he attempts to integrate Aristotelian thought with Catholic doctrine and to clarify many points of doctrine by synthesizing faith and reason into a coherent whole. Thomas believed that divine revelation and human reason were both aspects of the same uniform truth and that they could not conflict with one another; reason can discover some theological truths by observing the effects of God’s work in the world, yet the role of reason is limited, and faith is necessary to understand and believe what is unknowable by reason alone. Thomas also wrote a series of commentaries on Aristotle and the Bible, as well as Summa contra Gentiles (1260), a manual of concise arguments in defense of Church doctrine for use by missionaries attempting to convert Muslims and Jews.

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Thomas often traveled between France and Italy, and on March 7, 1274, just a few months after his visionary experience, while en route to Lyon, he became ill and died at the Cistercian abbey of Fossanova. He was canonized in 1323 and proclaimed doctor of the church in 1567; he is often known as the Angelic Doctor. The following selection is taken from the Summa Theologiae, 2a2ae, question 64, article 5. In this work, Aquinas begins each article by stating the reverse of his conclusion and the objections to a particular claim (“it appears that . . .”), then responds with a statement of the correct conclusion and the rebuttal to each of the previous objections in turn. In Question 64, article 5, Thomas argues against the legitimacy of suicide, incorporating the arguments of both Aristotle (referred to as “the Philosopher”) and Augustine. Thomas’s central argument appeals to Augustine’s inclusive interpretation of the Biblical commandment “Thou shalt not kill”:since there is a prohibition against killing human beings and suicide is killing a human being, suicide is therefore a sin, to which Thomas adds three further reasons:an argument from the natural inclination to live, an argument based on social community, and the argument that life ought not be rejected because it is a gift from God.

Sources Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, 2a2ae, question 64, article 5, tr. Michael Rudick. Quotation in introduction from Angelico Ferrua, S[ancti] Thomae Aquinatis vitae fontes praecipuae (Alba, IT:Edizioni domenicane, 1968, p.318).

from SUMMA THEOLOGIAE,

2A2Æ, Q.64, A.5

WHETHER ONE IS ALLOWED TO KILL HIMSELF We proceed to the fifth article. 1. It appears that one is permitted to kill himself. Homicide is a crime in that it is contrary to justice, but, as proven [by Aristotle] in Ethics, Book V, no one can do an injustice to himself; therefore, no one sins by killing himself. 2. Moreover, those with public authority are allowed to kill criminals; but sometimes one with public authority is himself a criminal, and so he is allowed to kill himself. 3. Moreover, it is permissible to submit oneself voluntarily to a smaller danger in order to avoid a greater, as one may amputate an infected member in order to save the whole body. Sometimes one may, by killing himself, avoid a greater evil, such as a wretched life or corruption through some sin; therefore, it is permissible for one to kill himself. 4. Moreover, Samson killed himself ( Judges xvi), yet he is numbered among the saints, as is evident from Hebrews xi. Therefore, it is permissible for one to kill himself. 5. Moreover, it is said in II Maccabees xiv that a certain Razis killed himself, “choosing to die nobly rather than be subject to sinners and to injuries unworthy of his birth.” Therefore, it is not unlawful to kill oneself.

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On the contrary is what Augustine says in Book Iof The City of God: “We understand the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ to pertain to man. Kill no other man, nor yourself; for he who kills himself kills another man.” I respond by saying that to kill oneself is altogether unlawful for three reasons. First, because every thing loves itself, it is thus proper for every thing to keep itself in being and resist decay as far as it can. Therefore, to kill oneself is contrary to natural inclination, and contrary to the charity according to which everyone ought to love himself. Hence self-killing is always a mortal sin, inasmuch as it stands against natural law and charity. Second, because every thing that is a part belongs to a whole, every man is part of a community, and as such is of the community. Therefore, he who kills himself injures the community, as is proven by the Philosopher in his Ethics, BookV. Third, because life is a gift divinely given to man, and subject to the power of Him “who kills and makes to live.” Therefore, he who deprives himself of life sins against God, just as he who kills another’s slave sins against the slave’s master, and just as he sins who arrogates to himself power over something not committed to him. To God alone belongs the power over death and life, according to Deuteronomy xxxii:“I kill and Imake to live.” To the first [argument that suicide is permissible], it may be objected that homicide is not only a sin against justice, but is also a sin against the charity that everyone ought to have for himself; on that ground, self-killing is a sin with respect to oneself. And with respect to the community and to God, it is a sin through its opposition to justice. To the second, it may be objected that one with public authority may kill a criminal because he is empowered to judge him. But no one is allowed to be the judge of himself, and so one with public authority is not allowed to kill himself because of some sin, although he is allowed to commit himself to the judgment of some other. To the third, it may be objected that man is indeed lord of himself through his free will, and so may lawfully dispose of himself as far as what pertains to this life is concerned; that much is governed by man’s free will. But the passage from this life to the other, happier one is not subject to man’s free will, but to divine power. Therefore, it is not permissible for a man to kill himself in order to pass over into the happier life. Neither, likewise, to avoid the present life’s miseries; the “ultimate” evil of this life, and the “most frightful,” is death, as the Philosopher shows in Ethics, Book III, and so to kill oneself to evade the other miseries of life is to assume a greater evil to avoid a less. Neither, likewise, may one kill oneself on account of some sin committed; in that case one harms oneself as much as may be, by preventing the necessary time for penitence. Besides, killing a criminal is not permitted except through the judgment of public authority. Neither, likewise, is a woman permitted to kill herself to prevent another’s violating her; she ought not commit the maximal sin on herself, which is to kill herself, to avoid another, smaller sin (for it is no crime for a woman to be violated through force, without her consent, because “the body is not corrupted without the mind’s consent,” as Lucia said [Golden Legend, IV]). And it is certain that fornication and adultery are less sins than homicide, especially self-homicide, which is the gravest of all because it injures the self to which is owed the greatest love. And it is also the most dangerous, because there remains no time to expiate the sin through penance. Neither, likewise, is one allowed to kill himself in fear of consenting to sin, for “we must not do evil in order that good come from it” [Romans iii8], or to avoid evils, especially smaller and less certain ones, for it is not inevitable that one will in the future consent to sin; God is capable, whenever temptation arises, to free man from sin.

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To the fourth, it may be objected that, as Augustine says in The City of God, Book I, “Neither may Samson be otherwise excused for crushing himself along with his enemies in the fall of the house, except that the Holy Spirit inwardly commanded this in order to perform a miracle through him”; and he gives the same reason for certain holy women who killed themselves in time of persecution, whose memory the church celebrates. To the fifth, it may be objected that it is fortitude when one does not shrink from suffering death inflicted by another person, in the interest of virtue and the avoidance of sin; but when one kills oneself to avoid bad punishments, it has some appearance of fortitude, on account of which certain suicides are accounted to have acted bravely, Razis among them. But this is not real fortitude, it is instead some weakness in a soul not strong enough to bear hardship, as is shown by the Philosopher in Ethics, Book III, and Augustine in The City of God, Book I.

ANGELA OF FOLIGNO (c. 1248–1309) from The Book of Divine Consolation of the

Blessed Angela of Foligno (expanded in Archive)

Little is known about the life of the Italian mystic Angela de Foligno. Tradition reports that she was born to a wealthy family but lost her father while still young. She married at an early age and had several sons. She had no formal education, but possessed an open mind and vigorous intelligence. She was beautiful, impetuous, and vain. After living a worldly early life—including, in the words of one of her biographers, “washing, combing... dressing in luxurious clothes, indulging in fancy foods... maligning others... letting loose with fits of anger and pride”—she converted to a life of contrition by confessing her guilt and shame, selling her land and possessions, and joining the Third Order of St. Francis as a Tertiary hermit. Despite the joy she found in her new life, Angela faced opposition from family and clergy. The remainder of her life was passed in seclusion (the members of her immediate family had all died by about 1288)in the area of the Church of the Friars Minor at Foligno, except for a pilgrimage to Assisi in 1291 at age 43, during which she received a vision “of God’s love for her.” Angela confessed her doctrinal revelations, visions, and consolations, some of which occurred while she slept, to her scribe, Brother Arnoldo; some parts she may have recorded herself. These works were collected in The Book of Divine Consolation of the Blessed Angela of Foligno, which includes a detailed account of her inner journey toward purification. The first Italian edition (translated from Latin), 1510, became one of the most popular religious works printed in the Italian vernacular and is an important specimen of medieval psychology. Her mystical writings have influenced many writers and philosophers, even to the present day. In the first of the two visions excerpted here, Angela vividly describes the intensity of her desire to die, much as St. Paul [q.v., New Testament:Philippians:“Paul on the Desire to Die”] had earlier written of his desire to die and be with Christ. In her second vision, which expresses a desire not unlike

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St. Ignatius’s [q.v.] eagerness to become “God’s wheat”—a martyr ground in the teeth of wild beasts— Angela wishes fervently for a slow and agonizing death. For Angela, as for Paul and Ignatius, however, suicide is not in question and is not explicitly discussed. These writings are crucial for examining the distinctions between voluntary martyrdom and suicide in early and medieval Christianity, emphasizing as this tradition does both the martyr’s promise of a personal, beatific afterlife and a thoroughgoing prohibition of suicide. One may desire intensely to die, but one must not deliberately end one’s life.

Sources Angela de Foligno, The Book of Divine Consolation of the Blessed Angela of Foligno. Treatise III, First and Tenth Visions, tr. Mary G.Steegmann, NewYork:Cooper Square Publishers, Inc., 1966, pp. 157–161, 163–168, 196–200. Text also online at http://www.archive.org/details/divineconsolatio00angeuoft. Quotations in introduction from Paul Lachance, Angela of Foligno:Complete Works, NewYork, Mahwah, NJ:Paulist Press, 1993, pp. 16–17, and Elizabeth Alvil Petroff, The Mystics.

from THE BOOK OF DIVINE

CONSOLATION OF THE BLESSED ANGELA OF FOLIGNO Of the Many Visions and Consolations Received by Angela of Foligno:First Vision and Consolation

... Iwas inspired and drawn unto the contemplation of the blessed union of the divinity and humanity of Christ, and in this contemplation did Ifeel an exceeding great delight, the which was greater than any Ihad ever felt heretofore. For this reason did Iremain for a great part of that day standing in the cell where Iwas praying, astonished, locked in and alone. My heart was all wrapped up in that joy and Ibecame as one dumb and did lose my speech. Wherefore did it happen that when my companion came she believed that Iwas about to die; but she did only weary me and was an hindrance unto me. Once, before that Ihad finished giving all Ipossessed unto the poor (albeit but little then remained for me to give), when Iwas persevering in these matters, it chanced that one evening when Iwas at prayer methought Idid feel nothing whatsoever of God. Wherefore Ilamented and prayed unto God, saying: “Lord, that which Ido, Ido only that Imay find Thee; wherefore, having done it, do Thou grant me the grace that Imay find Thee.” And many other similar things did Isay in my prayer, and this answer was vouchsafed unto me, “What desirest thou?” Then Isaid:“I desire neither gold nor silver; yea, if Thou wouldst give me the whole world Iwould not accept it, seeing that Idesire Thee only.” Then did He say unto me, “Strive diligently and make thyself ready, for when thou hast accomplished that which thou art now doing, the whole Trinity will descend unto thee.” Many other things were also promised unto me, which did ease me of my tribulation and fill me with divine sweetness. And from that hour Idid await that the thing which had been told me should be immediately fulfilled.

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After this Iwent unto the church of Saint Francis, near unto Assisi, and the promise was fulfilled by the way as Iwent thither. Nevertheless, Ihad not yet finished giving all things unto the poor, but there was little yet remaining. As Iwent unto Saint Francis, therefore, Iprayed by the way. And amongst other prayers, I did ask the Blessed Francis that he would implore God for me, that I might serve well his Order, unto which Ihad but lately renewed my promises, and that he would obtain for me the grace that Imight feel somewhat of Christ, but above all, that He would make me become poor and end my days in poverty. Now when Iwas come to that place which lieth between Spello and the narrow road which leadeth upward unto Assisi, and is beyond Spello, it was said unto me: “Thou hast prayed unto My servant Francis, and Ihave not willed to send thee another messenger. Iam the Holy Spirit, who am come unto thee to bring thee such consolation as thou hast never before tasted. And Iwill go with thee even unto Saint Francis; Ishall be within thee and but few of those who are with thee will perceive it. Iwill bear thee company and will speak with thee all the way; Iwill make no end to my speaking and thou wilt not be able to attend unto any save unto Me, for Ihave bound thee and will not depart from thee until thou comest for the second time unto Saint Francis. Then will Idepart from thee in so far as this present consolation is concerned, but in no other manner will Iever leave thee, and thou shalt love Me.” Then began He to speak the following words unto me, which did persuade me to love after this manner: “My daughter who art sweet unto Me, my daughter who art My temple; My beloved daughter, do thou love Me, for Ido greatly love thee and much more than thou lovest Me.” And very often did He say unto me:“Bride and daughter, sweet art thou unto Me, Ilove thee better than any other who is in the valley of Spolero. Forasmuch as Ihave rested and reposed in thee, do thou also rest thyself and repose in Me. Ihave been with the apostles, who did behold Me with their bodily eyes, but they did not feel Me as thou feelest Me. When thou shalt be come unto thine house thou shalt feel another sweetness, such as thou hast never yet experienced. Ishall not speak unto thee as Inow speak, but thou wilt only feel Me. Thou hast prayed unto My servant Francis, hoping with him and through him to obtain the things thou desirest, seeing that as my servant Francis hath greatly loved Me, Ihave done many things for him. If there were to-day any person who loved Me more, much more would Ido for him.” Then said He unto me that there are few good persons in these days and but little faith, for which cause He did lament, saying, “So great is the love of the soul who loveth Me without sin, that, if there were any one who loved Me perfectly, Iwould show him greater mercy than Ihave ever shown hitherto, and Thou knowest that many great things are recorded which Ihave done unto divers persons in times past.” None can excuse themselves for not having this love, because it is possible for all persons to love God, and He asketh nothing save that the soul shall love and seek Him. He is the love of the soul. But these are deep sayings. In the meantime Ihad remembered all my sins, and on my side Ibeheld nothing save sins and wrong-doing, so that Idid feel greater humility than Ihad ever felt before. Then did He tell me that Iwas beloved, that the Son of God and of the Virgin Mary had inclined Himself unto me and was come to speak with me. Wherefore Christ said unto me:― “If all the world came now unto thee, thou couldst not speak with others; for when Icome unto thee, there cometh more than all the world.” But in order to calm my doubts He said:“I am

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He who was crucified for thee, and for thy sake did Iendure hunger and thirst, and so greatly have Iloved thee that Idid shed My blood for thee,” and He expounded unto me all His Passion and said:“Ask mercy for thyself and for thy companions and for all whom thou wilt, for Iam much more ready to give than thou art to receive.” Then did my soul cry aloud, saying, “I will not ask, for Iam not worthy and Iremember all my sins!” And it said further, “If Thou who hast spoken with me from the beginning wert truly the Holy Spirit, Thou wouldst not have told me such great things; and if Thou wert verily within me, then my joy would be so great that Icould not bear it and live.” I can never describe the joy and sweetness which Ifelt, especially when He said, “I am the Holy Spirit who am entering into thee;” but briefly, great was the sweetness which Ireceived at each one of His sayings. In this manner, therefore, Idid arrive at Saint Francis’, as He had foretold. And He departed not from me, but remained with me, even when Isat down to meat, until Iwent unto Saint Francis’ for the second time. When Idid bend my knees upon entering in at the door of the church, Iimmediately beheld a picture of Saint Francis lying in Christ’s bosom. Then said Christ unto me:― “Thus closely will Ihold thee, and so much closer that bodily eyes can neither perceive nor comprehend it. But now, My beloved daughter and temple of My delight, the hour is come when Imust fill thee with My spirit and must leave thee. Ihave told thee that because of this consolation Imust leave thee; nevertheless, if thou lovest Me, Iwill not leave thee.” Albeit the words were bitter, yet were they full of joy. Then looked I, that Imight behold with the eyes of both body and mind. And Ibeheld; and if thou seekest to know what Ibeheld, truly Ican only say that it was a thing full of great majesty; and more than this can Inot say, save that it seemed unto me to be full of all goodness. Then He departed with great gentleness; not suddenly, but slowly and gradually.... ... Then cried my soul, “If only Thou wilt not leave me, Iwill commit no mortal sin!” And He answered me, “That say Inot unto thee.” Then as He was departing, Idid ask a blessing for my companion, and He replied, “Unto her will Igive another blessing,” and so He departed. And at His departure He would not that Ishould prostrate myself before Him, but that Ishould stand upon my feet. But after that He was gone Ifell down upon a seat and began to cry with a loud voice, clamouring and calling without any shame and uttering these words, “Oh Love, heretofore have Inever known Thee, why leavest Thou me in this manner?” And more than this Icould not Say, for my voice was so suffocated with crying that scarce could Ipronounce even this, wherefore was it not heard by the persons around me. This clamouring and crying did come upon me as Ientered into the door of the church of Saint Francis. Here was Ioverwhelmed again and began to make a noise and call aloud in the presence of all the people, that those who were come with me and did know me did stand afar off and were ashamed, believing that Idid it for another reason. So was Ileft with the certainty that it was God who had spoken with me; and because of His sweetness and the grief of His departure did Icry aloud, desiring to die. And seeing that Idid not die, the grief of being separated from Him was so great that all the joints of my limbs did fall asunder. When Iwas returned Istayed within the house, and Ifelt a sweetness so peaceful, quiet, and great that Iknow not how to describe it. Wherefore did Ilong for death, and because of the aforesaid peace and sweet joyfulness was life a greater grief unto me than Ican say. Ilonged for death that Imight attain unto that delight of the which Inow felt something, and because of this

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did Iwish to depart from this world. Life was a greater grief unto me than had been the deaths of my mother and my children, more heavy than any other grief of which Ican bethink me. Thus did Iremain eight days within the house, all feeble. And Icried, “Lord, have mercy upon me and grant that Imay remain no longer in this world.” From this time forth Iwas often aware of indescribable odours; but these and other things can Inot explain, so great was the sweetness and joy which Idid feel in them. The voice spake unto me many other times, but never at any great length, nor with so much sweetness or deep meaning.

Tenth Vision and Consolation Upon another occasion whilst Iwas at prayer, exceeding pleasant words were spoken unto me after this manner: “Oh my daughter, who art far sweeter unto Me than Iam unto thee; thou art the temple of My delight, and the heart of the Omnipotent God resteth upon thy heart.” Together with these words there came upon me a feeling of the utmost joy, such as Ihad never before experienced, inasmuch as all the members of my body felt it. And as Idid prostrate myself at these words, it was further told me: “The Omnipotent God loveth thee more dearly than any other woman of this city. He rejoiceth in thee and in thy companion. De ye both strive, therefore, that your lives be as a light unto all who desire to follow your example; but unto those who follow you not, shall your lives be as a judgment strict and hard....” ... This shall be a certain sign unto thee that Iam He, because none save Ican do this. And this is a sign which Iwill leave in thy soul, the which is better for thee than that which thou didst ask of Me. My love do Ileave in thee, so that for love of Me thou wilt endure tribulations, and if any person speak or do evil unto thee thou wilt be grateful, declaring thyself unworthy of so much mercy. Such is the love which Ibare unto you all, for whose sake Ipatiently and humbly endured all things. Thus thou shalt know whether or not Iam in thee if, when any person shall speak or do evil unto thee, thou art not only patient, but even desirous that they should hurt thee and be grateful unto them. And this is a certain sign of the grace of God. And behold, Ido now anoint thee with an ointment wherewith a saint called Siricus and many other saints were anointed.” Then did Iimmediately feel that ointment, and so sweet was it that Ilonged for death, and that Imight die with all manner of bodily torments. The torments suffered by the martyrs who had died for Christ did Iesteem as naught, and Idesired that for love of Him my torments should be more terrible than theirs, and that the world should cry out upon me with insults and revilings. Moreover, Irejoiced greatly in praying for those who might work me these evils, and Imarveled not at the saints who prayed for their murderers and prosecutors; for not only ought we to pray unto God for them, but we should beseech Him to grant them especial grace. Therefore was Iready to pray for those who did me evil, to love them with a great love, and to take compassion upon them. In that anointing Idid feel such sweetness both within and without that Inever felt the like before, and Ihave no words wherewith Ican show forth the least part of it. This consolation was different, and of a nature unlike the others. For in the others Ihad desired immediately to quit this world, but in this my desire was that my death should be grievous and prolonged, with all manner of torments, and that my members should suffer all the tortures of the world. Yetall this seemed but a small thing unto me, for my soul knew well that every torment was but a small thing in comparison with the blessings promised in the life eternal.

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My soul knew of a certainty that it was thus, and if all the wise men of the world had told me the contrary, Ishould not have believed them. And if Ishould swear that all who walked upon the aforesaid way would be saved, Ishould believe that Ispake the truth. This sign did God leave so firmly implanted in my soul, with so bright and clear a light, that methinketh Icould endure any martyrdom. This sign, moreover, leadeth continually upon the straight way of salvation, that is to say, it leadeth unto love and the desire to suffer for love of God.

IBN BATTUTA (1304–1368/69) from Rihla:On Sati and Religious Suicide

Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Batutah, known as Ibn Battuta or sometimes Battuta, was born to a Berber family of Islamic legal scholars in Tangier, Morocco. He is known for the extent of his travels over 30years, setting the record for distance journeyed by an individual until the advent of the Steam Age 450years later. From the time he left to perform the hajj at age 21, Ibn Battuta’s travels took him through most of the Islamic world, North, West, and East Africa, and as far as South and Central Asia, including China in the east and Southern and Eastern Europe in the west. Ibn Battuta returned to Morocco in 1354 and an oral account of his experience was collected by scholar Ibn Juzayy and adapted into a narrative entitled A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling, commonly known as the Rihla, meaning “journey.” The traditional rihla was centered around visits to the holy places of Arabia; only after, and due to Ibn Battuta’s travels, did “rihla” come to mean travels throughout the world. Ibn Battuta describes in the Rihla that it was first from a passing man in Pakpattan, now in Pakistan, that he was first told of sati, the suicide of a Hindu widow on the pyre of her husband. Ibn Battuta describes noticing later processions of individual Hindu women on horseback, followed by “both Muslims and infidels” on the way to funerals. He wrote that the ritual was voluntary on the surface, but that a widow who declined would be “despised” and live on “with her own people in misery.” Ibn Battuta goes on to describe a sati ritual of three women that he himself witnessed, and relates that while the men preparing the ritual held a blanket in front of the fire so as not to frighten the approaching women, one of the women tore the blanket away and said, smiling, “Do you frighten me with the fire? Iknow that it is a fire, so let me alone.” In analogy to sati, Ibn Battuta adds religious suicide in the Ganges and quotes a typical man preparing to enter the water:“Do not think that Idrown myself for any worldly reason or through penury; my purpose is solely to seek approach to Kusay,” which Ibn Battuta cites as meaning God.

Source Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325–1354, tr. H. A.R. Gibb, London:Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1929 (1983 reprint), pp. 190–193.

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from RIHLA:ON SATI AND RELIGIOUS

SUICIDE

The first town we reached after leaving Multan was Abuhar [Abohar], which is the first town in India proper, and thence we entered a plain extending for a day’s journey. On the borders of this plain are inaccessible mountains, inhabited by Hindu infidels; some of them are subjects under Muslim rule, and live in villages governed by a Muslim headman appointed by the governor in whose fief the village lies. Others of them are rebels and warriors, who maintain themselves in the fastnesses of the mountains and make plundering raids. On this road we fell in with a raiding party, this being the first engagement Iwitnessed in India. The main party had left Abuhar in the early morning, but Ihad stayed there with a small party of my companions until midday and when we left, numbering in all twenty-two horsemen, partly Arabs and partly Persians and Turks, we were attacked on this plain by eighty infidels on foot with two horsemen. My companions were men of courage and ability and we fought stoutly with them, killing one of the horsemen and about twelve of the footsoldiers. Iwas hit by an arrow and my horse by another, but God preserved me from them, for there is no force in their arrows. One of our party had his horse wounded, but we gave him in exchange the horse we had captured from the infidel, and killed the wounded horse, which was eaten by the Turks of our party. We carried the heads of the slain to the castle of Abu Bak’har, which we reached about midnight, and suspended them from the wall. Two days later we reached Ajudahan [Pakpattan], a small town belonging to the pious Shaykh Farid ad-Din. As Ireturned to the camp after visiting this personage, Isaw the people hurrying out, and some of our party along with them. Iasked them what was happening and they told me that one of the Hindu infidels had died, that a fire had been kindled to burn him, and his wife would burn herself along with him. After the burning my companions came back and told me that she had embraced the dead man until she herself was burned with him. Later on Iused often to see a Hindu woman, richly dressed, riding on horseback, followed by both Muslims and infidels and preceded by drums and trumpets; she was accompanied by Brahmans, who are the chiefs of the Hindus. In the sultan’s dominions they ask his permission to burn her, which he accords them. The burning of the wife after her husband’s death is regarded by them as a commendable act, but is not compulsory; only when a widow burns herself her family acquires a certain prestige by it and gains a reputation for fidelity. Awidow who does not burn herself dresses in coarse garments and lives with her own people in misery, despised for her lack of fidelity, but she is not forced to burn herself. Once in the town of Amjari [Amjhera, near Dhar] Isaw three women whose husbands had been killed in battle and who had agreed to burn themselves. Each one had a horse brought to her and mounted it, richly dressed and perfumed. In her right hand she held a coconut, with which she played, and in her left a mirror, in which she looked at her face. They were surrounded by Brahmans and their own relatives, and were preceded by drums, trumpets and bugles. Every one of the infidels said to them “Take greetings from me to my father, or brother or mother, or friend” and they would say “Yes” and smile at them. Irode out with my companions to see the way in which the burning was carried out. After three miles we came to a dark place with much water and shady trees, amongst which there were four pavilions, each containing a stone idol. Between the pavilions there was a basin of water over which

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a dense shade was cast by trees so thickly set that the sun could not penetrate them. The place looked like a spot in hell—God preserve us from it! On reaching these pavilions they descended to the pool, plunged into it and divested themselves of their clothes and ornaments, which they distributed as alms. Each one was then given an unsewn garment of coarse cotton and tied part of it round her waist and part over her head and shoulders. The fires had been lit near this basin in a low lying spot, and oil of sesame poured over them, so that the flames were increased. There were about fifteen men there with faggots of thin wood and about ten others with heavy pieces of wood, and the drummers and trumpeters were standing by waiting for the woman’s coming. The fire was screened off by a blanket held by some men, so that she should not be frightened by the sight of it. Isaw one of them, on coming to the blanket, pull it violently out of the men’s hands, saying to them with a smile “Do you frighten me with the fire? Iknow that it is a fire, so let me alone.” Thereupon she joined her hands above her head in salutation to the fire and cast herself into it. At the same moment the drums, trumpets and bugles were sounded, the men threw their firewood on her and the others put the heavy wood on top of her to prevent her moving, cries were raised and there was a loud clamour. When Isaw this Ihad all but fallen off my horse, if my companions had not quickly brought water to me and laved my face, after which Iwithdrew. The Indians have a similar practice of drowning themselves and many of them do so in the river Ganges, the river to which they go on pilgrimage, and into which the ashes of those who are burned are cast. They say that it is a river of Paradise. When one of them comes to drown himself he says to those present with him, “Do not think that Idrown myself for any worldly reason or through penury; my purpose is solely to seek approach to Kusay,” Kusay being the name of God in their language. He then drowns himself and when he is dead they take him out and burn him and cast his ashes into this river.

THOMAS MORE (1478–1535) from Utopia from ADialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation (expanded in Archive)

Born in London, the son of a prominent judge, Thomas More was educated at Oxford and Lincoln’s Inn, where he studied law. His humanist philosophy was influenced by his wide reading from scripture, the Church Fathers, classical literature, and the new learning of the Renaissance, as well as by his friendship with the noted philosopher and scholar Desiderius Erasmus. More spent some years in personal debate as he considered taking the priesthood at a Carthusian monastery; by the time of his election to parliament in 1504 and his first marriage in 1505, he had decided to live as a lay Christian. After some experience with trade negotiations, he was elected an undersheriff in 1510, a position that brought him recognition for his oratorical skills, as well as his impartiality and fairness in public affairs. In 1513, he began work on

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his historical narrative, The History of Richard III, to which William Shakespeare [q.v] is indebted, in Latin and English, and he wrote a series of Latin poems celebrating Henry VIII’'s accession to the throne. More’s best known work is Utopia (1516), which attacks unjust economic and social conditions in Europe and depicts an ideal communal state founded upon principles of reason. The book was an immediate success; its intelligent, ironic commentary on a variety of controversial issues established More’s reputation as a leading humanist. More’s later writings include numerous religious essays defending the Roman Catholic Church against the writings of Martin Luther and other Protestant reformers and heretics. More’s success in public and foreign negotiations led to his appointment in the royal service. In 1518, he joined the king’s council; he was knighted in 1521; and a series of honors and responsibilities led to his appointment as Speaker of the House of Commons in 1523. In 1529, More was named to the position of Lord Chancellor, the realm’s highest office, succeeding Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. He resigned in 1532, in part because of ill health, but also because he saw that Henry VIII must break with Rome if he were to divorce Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. He refused to take the Oath of Supremacy, which would impugn the pope’s spiritual authority and grant the king authority over the English church, and was charged with high treason. He was beheaded on July 6, 1535; his head was displayed on the London Bridge. He was canonized in 1935. In the selection from Utopia, More outlines the place of suicide in a rational, non-Christian society; it might be described as “encouraged suicide” for the hopelessly ill—but only after full medical care has been provided. Suicide in hopeless or terminal illness is never to be forced; suicide without official approval is rejected. In A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation (1557), written while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1534–35, More uses the form of a lengthy dialogue between an older uncle, Anthony, and his nephew Vincent to distinguish between two types of suicide, one the result of pusillanimity or cowardice, and the other the result of boldness and pride. The latter case leads to a discussion of how to distinguish the devil’s illusions from true spiritual revelations. In this discussion, More is confronting Augustine’s justification of certain Biblical suicides, such as Samson, as a response to God’s direct command; here, More raises the question of how someone who feels that he is being directed to kill himself can know whether he is being tempted by the devil or commanded by God. He is particularly concerned with the ways in which the devil exploits personality traits, determined by bodily “humors,” to instill suicidal obsessions, casting erosive self-torment into the mind of the melancholic, or self-destructive fury into the choleric temperament. The central section of the Dialogue is organized to respond to the fears itemized in Psalm 91:5, “You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday,” though there is no evidence that More himself was suicidal or was tempted to suicide, even while in the Tower of London awaiting execution. To be sure, he had deliberately chosen a course of action—refusal to sign the oath that Henry VIII demanded—almost certain to lead to his death. But as Frank Manley points out, More may have been uncertain of whether his choice could be evidence of spiritual pride—the same sort of temptation by the devil that, More believed, led so many others to suicide. More’s advice for dissuading a potential suicide from the act, in which he recommends both a “physician for the body” and a “physician for the soul,” shows a conception of suicide as partly due to psychophysiological causes.

Sources Thomas More, Utopia, Book II, tr. Ralph Robinson, in Three Early Modern Utopias, ed. Susan Bruce. Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 89–90; Thomas More, Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation With

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Modifications to Obsolete Language, from chs. XV, XVI, ed. Monica Stevens, IndyPublish.com, 2005, available online at www.gutenberg.org from Project Gutenberg, text # 17075. Quotations in introduction from A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, ed. Frank Manley, New Haven, CT, and London:Yale University Press, 1977, p.xxxii.

from UTOPIA Of Sick Persons The sick (as Isaid) they see to with great affection, and let nothing at all pass concerning either physic or good diet, whereby they may be restored again to their health. Such as be sick of incurable diseases they comfort with sitting by them, with talking with them, and, to be short, with all manner of helps that may be. But if the disease be not only incurable, but also full of continual pain and anguish, then the priests and the magistrates exhort the man (seeing he is not able to do any duty of life, and by overliving his own death is noisome and irksome to other and grievous to himself ), that he will determine with himself no longer to cherish that pestilent and painful disease. And, seeing his life is to him but a torment, that he will not be unwilling to die, but rather take a good hope to him, and either dispatch himself out of that painful life, as out of a prison or a rack of torment, or else suffer himself willingly to be rid out of it by other. And in so doing they tell him he shall do wisely, seeing by his death he shall lose no commodity, but end his pain. And because in that act he shall follow the counsel of the priests, that is to say, of the interpreters of God's will and pleasure, they show him that he shall do like a godly and a virtuous man. They that be thus persuaded finish their lives willingly, either with hunger, or else die in their sleep without any feeling of death. But they cause none such to die against his will, nor they use no less diligence and attendance about him, believing this to be an honourable death. Else he that killeth himself before that the priests and the council have allowed the cause of his death, him as unworthy either to be buried or with fire to be consumed, they cast unburied into some stinking marsh.

from ADIALOGUE OF COMFORT

AGAINST TRIBULATION

VINCENT:Verily, good uncle, you have in my mind well declared these kinds of the night’s fear. ANTHONY:Surely, cousin, but yet are there many more than Ican either remember or find.... That is, cousin, where the devil tempteth a man to kill and destroy himself. VINCENT: Undoubtedly this kind of tribulation is marvellous and strange. And the temptation is of such a sort that some men have the opinion that those who once fall into that fantasy can never fully cast it off.

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ANTHONY:... But the thing that maketh men so to say is that, of those who finally do destroy themselves, there is much speech and much wondering, as it is well worthy. But many a good man and woman hath sometime—yea, for some years, once after another—continually been tempted to do it, and yet hath, by grace and good counsel, well and virtuously withstood that temptation, and been in conclusion clearly delivered of it. And their tribulation is not known abroad and therefore not talked of. But surely, cousin, a horrible sore trouble it is to any man or woman whom the devil tempteth with that temptation. Many have Iheard of, and with some have Italked myself, who have been sore cumbered with it, and Ihave marked not a little the manner of them. VINCENT:Ipray you, good uncle, show me somewhat of such things as you perceive therein. For first, whereas you call the kind of temptation the daughter of pusillanimity and thereby so near of kin to the night’s fear, me thinketh on the other hand that it is rather a thing that cometh of a great courage and boldness. For they dare with their own hands to put themselves to death, from which we see almost every man shrink and flee, and many of them we know by good proof and plain experience for men of great heart and excellent bold courage. ANTHONY:Isaid, Cousin Vincent, that of pusillanimity cometh this temptation, and very truth it is that indeed so it doth. But yet Imeant not that only of faint heart and fear it cometh and growth always. For the devil tempteth sundry folk by sundry ways.... ... But, as Iwas about to tell you, strength of heart and courage are there none in that deed, not only because true strength (as it hath the name of virtue in a reasonable creature) can never be without prudence, but also because, as Isaid, even in them that seem men of most courage, it shall well appear to them that well weigh the matter that the mind whereby they be led to destroy themselves groweth of pusillanimity and very foolish fear. Take for example Cato of Utica, who in Africa killed himself after the great victory that Julius Caesar had. St. Austine [Augustine] well declareth in his work De civitate Dei [The City of God] that there was no strength nor magnanimity in his destruction of himself, but plain pusillanimity and impotency of stomach. For he was forced to do it because his heart was too feeble to bear the beholding of another man’s glory or the suffering of other worldly calamities that he feared should fall on himself. So that, as St. Austine well proveth, that horrible deed is no act of strength, but an act of a mind either drawn from the consideration of itself with some fiendish fancy, in which the man hath need to be called home with good counsel; or else oppressed by faint heart and fear, in which a good part of the counsel must stand in lifting up his courage with good consolation and comfort.... ... [T]‌aking the scripture of God for a ground for this matter, you know very well yourself that you shall go somewhat a shorter way to work if you ask this question of him:Since God hath forbidden once the thing himself, though he may dispense with it if he will, yet since the devil may feign himself God and with a marvellous vision delude one, and make as though God did it; and since the devil is also more likely to speak against God’s commandment than God against his own; you shall have good cause, Isay, to demand of the man himself whereby he knoweth that his vision is God's true revelation and not the devil's false delusion.... VINCENT:Yet then this religious man of whom we speak, when Ishow him the scripture against his revelation and therefore call it an illusion, may bid me with reason go mind

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my own affairs. For he knoweth well and surely himself that his revelation is very good and true and not any false illusion, since for all the general commandment of God in the scripture, God may dispense where he will and when he will, and may command him to do the contrary. For he commanded Abraham to kill his own son, and Sampson had, by inspiration of God, commandment to kill himself by pulling down the house upon his own head at the feast of the Philistines. Now, if Iwould then do as you bade me right now, tell him that such apparitions may be illusions, and since God's word is in the scripture against him plain for the prohibition, he must perceive the truth of his revelation whereby Imay know it is not a false illusion.... ANTHONY:This is well said, cousin, but yet could he not escape you so. For the dispensation of God’s common precept, which dispensation he must say that he hath by his private revelation, is a thing of such sort as showeth itself naught and false. For it never hath any example like, since the world began until now, that ever man hath read or heard of, among faithful people commended. First, as for Abraham, concerning the death of his son: God intended it not, but only tempted the towardness of the father’s obedience. As for Sampson, all men make not the matter very sure whether he be saved or not, but yet therein some matter and cause appeareth. For the Philistines being enemies of God and using Sampson for their mocking-stock in scorn of God, it is well likely that God gave him the mind to bestow his own life upon the revenging of the displeasure that those blasphemous Philistines did unto God. And that appeareth clear enough by this:that though his strength failed him when he lacked his hair, yet had he not, it seemeth, that strength evermore at hand while he had his hair, but only at such times as it pleased God to give it to him. This thing appeareth by these words, that the scripture in some place of that matter saith, “The power or might of God rushed into Sampson.” And so therefore, since this thing that he did in the pulling down of the house was done by the special gift of strength then at that point given him by God, it well declareth that the strength of God, and with it the spirit of God, entered into him for it. St. Austine also rehearseth that certain holy virtuous virgins, in time of persecution, being pursued by God’s enemies the infidels to be deflowered by force, ran into a water and drowned themselves rather than be bereaved of their virginity. And, albeit that he thinketh it is not lawful for any other maid to follow their example, but that she should suffer another to do her any manner of violence by force and commit sin of his own upon her against her will, rather than willingly and thereby sinfully herself to become a homicide of herself; yet he thinketh that in them it happened by the special instinct of the spirit of God, who, for causes seen to himself, would rather that they should avoid it with their own temporal death than abide the defiling and violation of their chastity. But now this good man neither hath any of God’s enemies to be revenged on by his own death, nor any woman who violently pursues him to bereave him by force of his virginity! And we never find that God proved any man’s obedient mind by the commandment of his own slaughter of himself. Therefore is both his case plainly against God’s open precept, and the dispensation strange and without example, no cause appearing nor well imaginable. Unless he would think that God could neither any longer live without him, nor could take him to him in such wise as he doth other men, but must command him to come by a forbidden way, by which, without other cause, we never heard that ever he bade any man else before....

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VINCENT: I think, uncle, that folk fall into this ungracious mind, through the devil’s temptation, by many more means than one. ANTHONY:That is, cousin, very true. For the devil taketh his occasions as he seeth them fall convenient for him. Some he stirreth to it for weariness of themselves after some great loss, some for fear of horrible bodily harm, and some (as I said) for fear of worldly shame.... Some have, with holding a knife in their hand, suddenly thought upon the killing of themselves, and forthwith, in devising what a horrible thing it would be if they should mishap to do so, have fallen into a fear that they would do so indeed. And they have, with long and often thinking thereon, imprinted that fear so sore in their imagination, that some of them have not afterwards cast it off without great difficulty. And some could never in their life be rid of it, but have afterward in conclusion miserably done it indeed. But like as, where the devil useth the blood of a man's own body toward his purpose in provoking him to lechery, the man must and doth with grace and wisdom resist it; so must the man do whose melancholy humours and devil abuseth, toward the casting of such a desperate dread into his heart. VINCENT:Ipray you, uncle, what advice would be to be given him in such a case? ANTHONY:Surely, me thinketh his help standeth in two things:counsel and prayer. First, as concerning counsel:Like as it may be that he hath two things that hold him in his temptation; that is, some evil humours of his own body, and the cursed devil that abuseth them to his pernicious purpose, so must he needs against them twain the counsel of two manner of folk; that is, physicians for the body and physicians for the soul. The bodily physician shall consider what abundance of these evil humours the man hath, that the devil maketh his instruments, in moving the man toward that fearful affection. And he shall proceed by fitting diet and suitable medicines to resist them, as well as by purgations to disburden the body of them. Let no man think it strange that I would advise a man to take counsel for the body, in such spiritual suffering. For since the body and the soul are so knit and joined together that they both make between them one person, the distemperance of either one engendereth sometimes the distemperance of both twain. And therefore Iwould advise every man in every sickness of the body to be shriven and to seek of a good spiritual physician the sure health of his soul. For this shall not only serve against peril that may peradventure grow further by that sickness than in the beginning men think were likely, but the comfort of it (and God’s favour increasing with it) shall also do the body good. For this cause the blessed apostle St. James exhorteth men in their bodily sickness to call in the priests, and saith that it shall do them good both in body and soul. So likewise would Isometimes advise some men, in some sickness of the soul, besides their spiritual leech, to take also some counsel of the physician for the body.... The manner of the fight against temptation must stand in three things:that is, in resisting, and in contemning, and in the invocation of help.... ... And Idoubt not, by God’s grace, but that he who in such a temptation will use good counsel and prayer and keep himself in good virtuous business and good virtuous company and abide in the faithful hope of God’s help, he shall have the truth of God (as the prophet saith in the verse afore rehearsed) so compass him about with a shield that he shall not need to dread this night’s fear of this wicked temptation. And thus will Ifinish this piece of the night’s fear....

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MARTIN LUTHER (1483–1546) from Table Talk

The German religious reformer, Martin Luther, was born in Saxony, the son of a prosperous but strict entrepreneur and local politician. In 1505, Luther received a master’s degree from the University of Erfurt, one of Germany’s finest schools. According to his father’s wishes, he began to study law, but that same year, after being thrown to the ground from his horse during a violent thunderstorm, he vowed that he would become a monk if he survived. He was ordained to the priesthood in an Augustinian monastery in 1507, and in 1512, received his doctorate in theology from the University of Wittenberg. During this time, Luther, who suffered from depression, underwent an internal, spiritual crisis. He felt that no matter how well he lived his life, he was unable to please God. Out of this crisis was, he fashioned the essential theology of Protestantism:Faith, not good works, is the key to salvation. In 1517, outraged by the Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences, or pardons that seemed to Luther to permit those who had sinned to buy their way out of punishment, he posted his famous “Ninety-Five Theses” on the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg. The Theses were widely distributed and aroused strong public reaction. He also published other works attacking the papal system as a whole, including his famous “Address to the Christian Nobles of Germany” (1520) and his treatise On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520). Luther was called upon to recant his views, including his denial of the supremacy of the pope, but he refused, burning the papal bull in public. He was excommunicated in January of 1521. That spring, he was summoned to the Imperial Diet at Worms; again he refused to recant, holding that his position was supported by Scripture; the Edict of Worms declared him an outlaw and banned his writings. In the next years, under the protection of Frederick of Saxony, Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into German, a project that would prove to be of central importance to both the standardization of the German language and the consolidation of the Protestant Reformation. Following the German Peasants’ War, the Augustinian friars abandoned the Black Cloister in Wittenberg. In 1524, it was opened to Luther, his wife Katherine von Bora, a former nun whom he married in 1525, and their six children. For the rest of his life, Luther continued to teach and write, and in 1534, 12years after his New Testament translation, he published a translation of the entire Bible, including the Old Testament and the Apocrypha. His works also include many letters, sermons, lectures, scriptural commentaries, catechisms, and hymns. On February 17, 1546, he suffered a heart attack and died the next day. Luther’s theology, based largely on his studies of the New Testament and St. Augustine, changed the course of Western religious history. His turn from canon law to scripture as the center of faith, the justification of man by faith, and the belief in the priesthood of all Christians tried to move the Church away from the bureaucracy of the established clergy; it established not only Protestantism as a result of the Reformation, but found further effect in the Counterreformation within the Catholic Church. The selection presented here is a group of three short notes drawn from different parts of the so-called Table Talk (1566). Luther frequently entertained visitors at dinner, and the opinions he articulated on these occasions were often noted by his visitors. The Table Talk was later assembled from different note-takers; over the years, more than a score of men had taken notes at Luther’s dinner table. In the short notes presented here, Luther comments on the etiology and consequences of suicide, and although he attributes suicide to the power of the devil, he insists that this does not entail that the victim is damned.

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Sources Luther, Martin, Table Talk entries DLXXXIX, DCCXXXVIII, in The Table Talk or Familiar Discourse of Martin Luther, tr. William Hazlitt, London:David Bogue, 1848, pp. 254, 303; entry 222 (April 7, 1532), in Luther’s Works, American Edition, Vol. 54, ed. and tr. Theodore G.Tappert, Philadelphia:Fortress Press, 1967, p.29.

from TABLE TALK It is very certain that, as to all persons who have hanged themselves, or killed themselves in any other way, ’tis the devil who has put the cord round their necks, or the knife to their throats. Mention was made of a young girl who, to avoid violence offered her by a nobleman, threw herself from the window, and was killed. It was asked, was she responsible for her death? Doctor Luther said:No:she felt that this step formed her only chance of safety, it being not her life she sought to save, but her chastity. I don’t share the opinion that suicides are certainly to be damned. My reason is that they do not wish to kill themselves but are overcome by the power of the devil. They are like a man who is murdered in the woods by a robber. However, this ought not be taught to the common people, lest Satan be given an opportunity to cause slaughter, and Irecommend that the popular custom be strictly adhered to according to which it [the suicide’s corpse] is not carried over the threshold, etc. Such persons do not die by free choice or by law, but our Lord God will dispatch them as he executes a person through a robber. Magistrates should treat them quite strictly, although it is not plain that their souls are damned. However, they are examples by which our Lord God wishes to show that the devil is powerful and also that we should be diligent in prayer. But for these examples, we would not fear God. Hence he must teach us in this way.

FRANCISCO DE VITORIA (c. 1483/92–1546) from Lecture on Homicide (expanded in Archive)

Commentary on [Thomas Aquinas] Summa Theologiae 2A 2 AE, Q64, A.5 (in Archive only)

Francisco de Vitoria, a Dominican theologian and writer on a wide range of topics, was one of the most influential thinkers in 16th-century Catholic Europe. Born to a Basque family in Burgos, he became a member of the Dominican convent of San Pablo in about 1504. From 1509 to 1523, he studied and lectured at the University of Paris, returning to Spain to teach at the College of Saint Gregorio

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at Valladolid. In 1526, he secured the most honored academic position in Spain, the prima chair of Theology at Salamanca University. Despite his considerable originality, Vitoria published none of his own works, and most of his original lectures have been lost, surviving only in notes taken by students. To Vitoria, theology included the study of all things under divine, as well as natural, law; he strove to create a moral philosophy compatible with natural law theory by interpreting the works of Aristotle [q.v.] and Thomas Aquinas [q.v.]. Vitoria has been variously called “the father of international law” and “the founder of global political philosophy,” thanks to his conception of a “commonwealth of the whole world” (res publica totius orbis), though his position may be closer to the traditional jus gentium, the law of nations, than to modern international law. Vitoria’s most influential writings deal with papal, civil, and monarchical power and the ethics of Spanish colonization in the Americas, especially with respect to the rights of the native population. Vitoria is also credited with restoring theological studies in Renaissance Spain through his writing and teaching. He inspired the next generation of Spanish jurists and theologians, including Soto, Molina, and Suárez. He died in 1546 after a long period of suffering. Vitoria’s two principal types of works are his lectures to students (preserved through their notations) and a series of relectiones, formal lectures annually delivered to the entire university and preserved in manuscript form. Vitoria’s work in both categories formed the most extensive commentaries on suicide up to that time. This collection includes his Commentary on Summa Theologiae, 2a 2ae, q.64, a.5 of Thomas Aquinas and his subsequent relectio “On Homicide” (lecture delivered 1530, published 1557), which explores many of the same arguments at much more substantial length. Vitoria employs the same argumentative format that had been used by Aquinas–beginning by stating the conclusion, then adducing arguments against the conclusion, and only then rebutting them to confirm the conclusion. Vitoria’s argument, which begins with a sustained exploration of natural human inclination, analyzes a variety of cases that may seem to challenge Aquinas’s position against taking one’s own life (among them, failure to defend oneself against lethal attack, sacrificing one’s own share of bread to save another, leaping from a lifeboat to save the others in it, submitting to capital punishment when one might escape, killing oneself to avoid sexual violation, and the like), and then asserts Vitoria’s answers to these objections. Particularly important are specific cases, like that of Samson, which pose challenges to the accepted theological view that suicide is always wrong. Vitoria’s central concern is with the intention under which an act is done:Suicide is never licit if the intention is to kill oneself. However, one may lawfully kill oneself as a foreseen, though unintended, consequence of another intended act:Samson pulled the temple down on the Philistines, whom he intended to kill, but also on himself, whom he did not intend to kill, although he foresaw that his death would occur. In an argument that would become ubiquitous among Christian theologians in the context of suicide, Vitoria appeals to Aquinas’s principle of “double effect,” a principle used in medical ethics to distinguish between palliation and physician-assisted suicide:The physician gives a dying patient opiates to relieve pain, foreseeing—but not intending—that the drug may also hinder respiration and cause the patient’s death. Vitoria uses double-effect reasoning in examining whether one has an obligation to try to prolong one’s own life, to avoid all but the healthiest foods, to drink wine instead of water if one would live ten years longer, or to use expensive medicines in terminal illness.

Sources Francisco de Vitoria, “Relectio De homicidio,” in Relecciones Theológicas del Maesro Fray Francisco de Vitoria, ed. P. Mtro. Fr. Luis G.Alonso Getino, vol. III, pp. 97–152 [Latin text], pp. 203–228 [Spanish text]. Madrid:Imprenta La Rafa, 1935. Tr. Michael Rudick. Francisco de Vitoria, Relection On Homicide & Commentary on Summa Theologiae IIa IIae Q.64 (Thomas Aquinas). Tr. John P.Doyle. Milwaukee:Marquette University Press, 1997, pp.169–185.

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from LECTURE ON HOMICIDE ... The first proposition:Just as it is always sinful to commit suicide, so is it often a counsel, and sometimes a commandment, not only to suffer death patiently, but also to submit to it freely.... ... To kill oneself violates the commandment in the Decalogue, “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20, Deut. 5), and is therefore a mortal sin. So argues St. Augustine in De Trinitate 1, to prove that suicide is unlawful. But to show more clearly the force of this argument, it is necessary to examine what precisely is forbidden by the commandment, for it does not explicitly say it is wrong to kill oneself.... How absolute is the commandment? In many cases it is lawful to kill, hence we properly ask what sorts of killing the commandment forbids. Some interpret the commandment as absolute, a prohibition of killing any person, whether a criminal or an innocent, whether by public authority or private. But in divine and general law, exceptions are recognized.... ... Aperson may be killed in two ways. One way is by deliberate intention, as when a judge condemns a malefactor to death. The other way is unintentional. Ido not mean by this only an accidental killing, but also a voluntary one in which the killer seeks some end that might be achieved without the killing, as in self-defense or the killing of a night thief whom one would not kill if he could defend himself otherwise.... Only homicide in conformity with natural and divine law is lawful for a polity, through its magistrates and rulers responsible to the polity. ... Ido say that private persons are always forbidden to kill another intentionally, because they are not authorized to protect the public welfare. Finally, Iconclude that all other intentional homicide is forbidden by the commandment, whether for a public or private person, except in the permitted situation where the life of a criminal is harmful to the polity. About unintentional homicide, whether in defense of self or of the polity, there is dispute.... ... From the above discussion, it appears plain that the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” makes suicide unlawful. Because no one is allowed to be judge of himself, neither does anyone have public authority over himself, taking one’s own life is never permissible, even if one deserves death as one harmful to the polity. ... Isay that is never lawful to shorten one’s life, but... the difference between shortening a life and simply not prolonging it must be considered. Also to be considered is that, if a person is obliged not to abrupt his life, still, he is not obliged to use all lawful means to prolong it. It is clear that if one learns that the weather in India is milder and healthier such to make him live longer than he would in his own country, he is not obliged to sail to India, neither must he move from one city to another more healthy. Nor does God ask that we have a care for long life. Similarly with foods; some are improper because harmful to a person’s health, and to eat them would be to kill oneself. Ispeak not only of poisons, but also of other noxious foods like fungi, raw or acerbic herbs, and such like. Some foods may be less healthy than others but do not endanger life, like fish, eggs, and water. We ought, Ithink, to observe common experience. Many more youths die of luxurious excesses than from penitential fasts; gluttony kills more people than the sword. From all this, Iconclude that it is not lawful to shorten one’s life by eating unhealthy foods. But neither is a man obliged to eat the best foods.... Nor must he drink wine if a physician tells him he would live ten years longer on wine than on water. Drinking water is not lethal, nor does it shorten life; it simply does not prolong it, but one is not obliged to prolong life. This applies to

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the healthy and strong, since there are foods that are unhealthy and harmful to the ill that would be good for the healthy. Hence it is not lawful for the ill to eat them.... ... a person is not obligated to use all means to preserve his life; it is enough if he uses only the moral and appropriate means. Thus in the case proposed, Ido not believe that a man must give up his entire patrimony to save his life. If there is a remedy for his sickness, the one who denies him that remedy is a homicide. From this we infer that if someone is terminally ill, and a certain expensive medicine might prolong his life for some hours, or even some days, he is not obliged to take it; it suffices if he takes only the usual medicines, and he is any case moribund. ... Isay that life itself is the greatest good, greater than temporal goods like glory, honor, and fame. It is said that a man will give all things he possesses for life, for all these things are arranged to serve the purpose of human life. Whence Solomon says, “Have a care for your good name, for this will remain for you longer than a thousand treasures.” He does not compare a good name with life, but with treasures. And in another passage he says, “A good name is better than great riches.” (Proverbs 22:1) “There is no wealth better than health of body” (Sirach 30:16). Ihold, therefore, that it is not permissible to sacrifice one’s life for fame or glory. Hence it is not only the suicide who sins gravely, but also those who, without good cause, put themselves in serious danger for human glory. Aristotle says that death is the greatest of evils (Ethics 3). In all these... objections, we must note that the question of whether someone can willfully and actively kill himself is not treated, but only the question of the reason that lies behind the act. Therefore, they can prove nothing against the conclusions Ihave proposed. Iconcede only that they do not kill themselves with the intention to kill themselves. None of the deaths in these arguments, whether lawful or not, is suicide in the sense that Iaccept, that is, the suicide orders himself to die and the order entails the statement, “I wish to die.” Hence the most crucial issue lies in the fifteenth objection. Could Brutus, Cato, Decius, and numerous others who killed themselves have been innocently ignorant of the fact that such a killing is unlawful, since they all believed it to be the best and most noble death, and were praised for it by men reputed to be wise? I respond by pointing out that there is the same issue with other divine commandments. There are many divine precepts which were by the pagans, and still are today, not unknown but ignored, such as those concerning fornication or the revenge of injuries, in which we do not suffer under an invincible ignorance, but we admit with St. Paul, “God gave them up to the lusts of their hearts,” and they committed all evil deeds, malice, fornication, homicide, etc. (Romans 1:24ff.). And to excuse such things is the wisdom of this world, but folly before God. The natural light of reason can teach that it is unlawful to commit suicide, because the philosophers most zealous of virtue taught this, as is evident from Aristotle (Ethics 3), who said that to kill oneself is not a courageous deed, but a cowardly one, in that the suicide cannot bear the rigors of life, and from Cicero: “Why take my own life when I have no cause to do so? Why choose mistreatment? Although this may sometimes be wise, it is true wisdom neither to desire death nor to fear it.” For the final objection concerning Samson, Razis, Saul, and some others, we cannot say the same of all. It is necessary to excuse Samson, whom Paul lists among the just. Whence Augustine says Samson is excused for the reason that he was moved by the spirit of God, which is not speculative, but is made clear in Judges 17:28, where we are told that he asked God to restore his original strength so he could be revenged on his enemies. There is another solution:He did not kill himself intentionally, but he wished to kill and overthrow his foes, his own death being the necessary consequence of that. He might well have wished to save himself

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while killing the others, if this had been possible, and we may take this for lawful without needing further revelation. For who would doubt that some man in battle or defending his city can, though certain of death, perform a deed beneficial to his city and detrimental to the enemy. We read of Eleazar, who ran under the belly of the elephant he thought was carrying King Antiochus, stabbed it with his sword, and perished under its weight when it fell (1 Maccabes 6:43ff.). He suffered a noble death, for, as the scripture says, he freely sacrificed himself for his people. The deed is not rebuked; as Ambrose says in the chapter on courage in On duties, it honored Eleazar with wondrous praise. Thus Samson can be excused without recourse to heavenly inspiration. Eleazar killed himself in the same manner as Samson. But the same judgment may not be given on Saul. He was denied the grace of God, and it is not necessary to seek excuses for him. Sabellicus writes that Saul did not kill himself, but only considered taking his life. He knew suicide was sinful, and was suddenly killed by the Amalekite. This is a bad lapse on the part of Christian historians, because we read in 1 Samuel 31 that Saul fell on his own sword and died. Razis, on the other hand, may probably be excused, although St. Thomas (II-II, q.64, art. 5)does not excuse him....

JOHN CALVIN (1509–1564) Sermons on Job:

13th Sermon on the 3rd Chapter of Job 17th Sermon on the 5th Chapter of Job (in Archive only) 22nd Sermon on the 5th Chapter of Job (in Archive only) 24th Sermon on the 6th Chapter of Job (in Archive only)

The French theologian and reformer John Calvin (originally Jean Calvin or Cauvin), was born in Noyon, Picardy, to a staunch Roman Catholic family; his father hoped that he would become a priest. He went to Paris to study Latin and theology (and to flee the plague at Noyon) at the age of 14, but after his father was dismissed from the Roman Church by his employers at Noyon Cathedral, the young Calvin, at his father’s urging, shifted his course of study from theology to law. Even as a young man, Calvin was said to be extremely religious. He converted to the Protestant doctrines of the Reformation and was banished from Paris in 1533 with his friend, the rector Nicolas Cop, when the humanist reformers were renounced as heretical by the conservative faculty of the Collège Royal. Having been driven out of Geneva once, in 1538, Calvin succeeded in a second try at establishing the Consistory, an ecclesiastical court, and in 1541, he established government reform in Geneva, which would serve as the focal point for the defense of Protestantism throughout Europe. However, though Calvin had asked for a more humane form of execution, the court also oversaw under Calvin’s direction the burning at the stake in 1553 of a competing reformist

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theologian, Servetus, on a pile of Servetus’s own books. Strongly committed to the importance of education, Calvin founded the Academy of Geneva (1559), the progenitor of the University of Geneva. In his later years, Calvin suffered from very poor health, including lung hemorrhages, gout, migraines, and kidney stones; he was sometimes carried to the pulpit to preach, and on occasion gave lectures from his bed. Taking refuge in Basel, Switzerland, Calvin published the first edition of his Instituto Christianae Religionis (in Latin, 1536; in French, 1541; translated into English as Institutes of the Christian Religion), his most famous and extraordinarily influential work. Stressing the total sovereignty of God, especially in determining who is elect and who is granted salvation, the Institutes brought together the scattered and unsystematic opinions of reformist writers of the period into one body of doctrine. Calvin revised and expanded the work throughout his life, with the fifth and final Latin edition of 1559 reaching a total of four books of 80 chapters, five times the length of the first publication. The five central points of Calvinism, including the total depravity or centrality of sin, and what is often called predestination, were later upheld by the Synod of Dort in 1619 in a denunciation of the competing reform ideology of Armenianism. The excerpts from two of Calvin’s several sermons on Job reprinted here scrutinize Job’s seeming despair and desire to die as he suffers the afflictions God has allowed Satan to impose on him. Calvin argues that afflictions sent by God, however painful, are “for our profit and welfare,” and distinguishes between two radically different sorts of desire to die. One is born of suffering and the fear of future sinning:This sort of desire to die is illegitimate, in Calvin’s eyes, and itself sinful. In contrast, the form of desire to die (exhibited, for example, by St. Paul [q.v., under New Testament]), the desire to employ oneself in God’s service, is legitimate and praiseworthy. Calvin’s text is particularly relevant in exploring negative occasions of suicide, that is, choices made by a person apparently considering suicide but who rejects it.

Source John Calvin, Sermons of Maister John Calvin, upon the Booke of Job: 13th Sermon on the 3rd Chapter of Job (57a7-60a62); 17th Sermon on the 5th Chapter of Job (75b57 to 76a37); 22nd Sermon on the 5th Chapter of Job (102b11 to 102b60); 24th Sermon on the 6th Chapter of Job (108a6 to 108b14), translated from the French by Arthur Golding, pp. 57–60, 75–76, 102, 108. London: Impensis Georgij Bishop, 1574; facsimile reprint 1993, The Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh. Wording, spelling and punctuation somewhat modernized.

SERMONS ON JOB 13th Sermon on the 3rd Chapter of Job Job complaineth here,; as though God did men wrong to put them into the world, and to exercise them with store of miseries. And so he maketh his reckoning, that if God will have us to live, he should maintain us at our ease, and not encumber us with many troubles. Thus we see briefly what is contained here. Verily Job’s intent was not to plead against God, as if he

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would go to law with him; but yet in the meanwhile, the grief that he sustained carried him so far forth, that these complaints passed out of his mouth. How now? Wherefore hath God set us in this world? Is it not to the end, that we should know him to be our Father, and that we should bless him, because we be sure that he hath a care of us? But contrariwise it is to be seen, that many men are afflicted and tormented with many miseries. To what purpose does God hold them at that point? It seem­eth that he would have his name to be blasphemed. What can they do whom he handleth so rigorously? When they see death before their eyes, or rather have it between their teeth, they can not but fret and chafe at it. Thus we see an occasion of murmuring against God, and it seemeth that he himself is the cause of it. Here we have a very good and profitable lesson: which is that we should assure ourselves, that when God scourgeth us, yet he ceasseth not to give us some taste of his goodness, in such wise as even in the middest of our afflictions we may still praise him, and rejoice in him. Yet notwithstanding it is true that he restraineth our joys, and turneth them into bitterness. But there is a mean betwixt blessing of God’s name, and blaspheming of it: which mean is to call upon him when we be oppressed with adversity, and to resort unto him, desiring him to receive us unto mercy. But men can never keep this mean, except God have an eye to it of himself when he scourgeth us. Therefore let us mark first, that whensoever God sendeth us any troubles and sorrows, he ceaseth not to make us taste of his goodness therewithal, to assuage the anguish that might hold our hearts in distress. How is that? We have shewed heretofore, that if men had an eye to God’s former benefits towards them (yea though it were but in that he hath sustained them from their childhood, after he had brought them out of their mother’s womb, and given them life) it were enough to comfort them, even when they be overloaded with despair, and to make them think: May not God punish us justly? for we be bound to bear patiently the adversity that he sendeth, and nature teacheth us so to do, forsomuch as he bestoweth so many benefits upon us, according as Job hath shewed heretofore. We see then how this only one consideration ought to assuage our sorrows, according as it is to be seen, that if men put sugar or honey into a medicine that is over bitter, it will allay it in such sort, as the patient may the better take it, whereas otherwise it would go near to choke him. But there is yet a further matter in this: namely, that God sheweth us the use of his chastisements which he sendeth us: which is not that he meaneth to destroy us so often as he scourges us: but that it is for our profit and welfare: and he promiseth us, that if we be faithful, he will not suffer [1 Cor. 10:13] us to be racked out of measure, but will support us. So then, if we be afflicted, there is no reason why we should take pritch [complain] against God, as though we found nothing but rigor at his hand. For we be so comforted in our afflictions, as if our unthankfulness letted [hindered] us not, we might rejoice and say, blessed be the name of God, although he send us not all our own desires. . . . There is great reason why God should chastise men. For how great are our sins? the number of them is infinite. Again, if we look upon our lusts, there is also a very bottomless gulf, which hath need to be mended. God therefore must mortify us. Furthermore, if we consider how much we be given to the world: we shall find that our affections had need to be plucked from it by Gods chastisements. Moreover how great is our pride and presumptuousness? And therefore must God needs humble us. Besides all this, how cold are we to crave his help? and therefore he must be faine to enforce us to it. Finally, ought not our faith to be tried and made known? Then see we not reasons inowe [enough] why God holdeth us here, and will have us to be miserable, so as there is nothing but pain, trouble, torment, and anguish in all our whole life? Is there not sufficient reason why God should do this? Mark here a special

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point. And sith that he continually calleth us unto him, and maketh us free passage unto him, and that we have such a remedy in our miseries: may we not hold ourselves well appayed? We see how we ought to be armed and fenced against the said temptations, which reigned overmuch in Job, howebeit that he was not utterly overcome of it. For when Job speaketh here of such as desire the grave, and which willingly dig for it as for some hidden treasure, longing to die and can not: he putteth himself in the same rank, as we shall see by the sequel: wherein he confirmeth his own infirmity and vice. For it is not lawful for the faithful to mislike their own life, and to wish so for death. True it is that we may wish for death in one respect: which is, in consideration that we be held here in such bondage of sin, as we can not serve God so freely as were to be wished, because we are overfraught with vices. In respect hereof it is certain that we may sigh, and desire God to take us quickly out of the world. But (as is said afore) it may not be for that we hate our life, or for that we be weary to be held here because we be handled over rigorously: but we must bear our lot patiently, in waiting Gods leisure to deliver us. And we see that Paul holdeth the [Rom. 7:24.25] self same measure when he saith to the Romans, Alas, who shall deliver me from this mortal body? For I am unhappy. But yet therewithall he sayth, Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Lo, hear how Saint Paul on the one side calleth himself unhappy, and desireth to be taken out of the world: and on the other side is contented and at rest, because God prefereth him, and he knoweth that God will never forsake him, howbeit that he be subject to many miseries. We see here his contentation. And that we may the better understand the whole: let us mark how Job hath done amiss in two points. That is to wit, in not having the regard that he ought to have had in desiring death: and also in not keeping measure. Here we see two faults that are very gross. When I say that Job had not his eyes fastened upon the mark that he ought, I mean that his wishing for death, was not because he saw himself to be a miserable sinner, and could not attain to the perfection which all of us ought to labor for, but because he was weary of the nipping griefs, as well which he presently endured in his person, as which he had sustained before in his goods. And so he desired death, because it seemed to him that God pressed him overfore. Thus we see the first fault that I spake of. . . . But it is not enough to think as afore is said [2 Cor. 7:11]: that is to wit, to wish death is such wise as I have earst shewed: but it behoveth also to keep measure. I say, we must not only wish it upon good cause, but we must also bridle our desires, for as it be ruled by the good pleasure of God. And this will bring to pass, that the outrage which is shewed here in Job, shall be restrained as with a bridle. I have already touched this point in the text which I alleged out of S. Paul. For after he had made his moan, and wished to be delivered out of this prison of death: he addeth, I thank my God: and he ceasseth not to be quiet, even in the midst of those complaints and longings. And why so? for he seeth it is good reason that God should be the master, and govern us at his pleasure: and that we should patiently wait for such end as he listeth to give us. S. Paul perceiving this, concludeth immediately, that although he be a wretched sinner, yet notwithstanding he is sure that God will guide him in such wise, as his salvation can not miscarry. S. Paul then had an eye to those two things. And therefore he sayth that he yeldeth God thanks, not withstanding that he be in misery. Even so must we do. . . . And hereby we see how it is not only granted to Gods children to wish for death, but also that they ought to wish for it. For they shew not a good proof of their faith, except they seek to go out of this world, according as in deed all things haste and labor toward their mark. But our mark is aloft, and therefore must we never leave running till we come

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to our way’s end which GOD hath set us: and we must desire that that may be quickly. Nevertheless let us always bear in mind the cause that I have spoken: namely, that we must not be provoked to wish for death, because we be subject some to sickness, some to poverty, some to one thing, and some to another: but because we be not fully reformed to the image of God, and because we have many imperfections in us. Mark well (I say) the cause that must spur and provoke us to desire death: namely, to the end that being rid of this mortal body (which is like a cabane [hut] full of stench and noisomeness) we may be fully reformed to the image of God, so as he may reign in us, and all the corruption of our nature be utterly done away.

SOLOMON BEN JEHIEL LURIA (1510–1573) Yam shel Shelomoh On Bava Kamma 8:59

Solomon ben Jehiel Luria was a rabbi and author of several analytical discourses on the Talmud [q.v.] and its early commentaries. He was born in Brest-Litovsk, Lithuania, and was educated as a child by his grandfather, Rabbi Isaac Klauberia, in Poznan. After returning home and continuing his studies in 1535, Luria married and was made rabbi of Brest. In 1555, he became leader of Lublin’s celebrated yeshivah, or Talmudic academy. Luria, careful and methodical in his studies of Jewish law, said of himself, “I was painstaking always to trace the last source of the Halakah,” and his assiduous reliance on Jewish law and its sources was combined with a distrust of all forms of secular philosophy. Luria once told a friend and fellow scholar, Rabbi Moses Isserles, a student of classical philosophy, “You are turning to the wisdom of the uncircumcised Aristotle. Woe unto my eyes that they should see such a thing.” Luria’s many works include Hokmat Shelomoh (1582), a collection of analytical glosses on the Talmud, and Yam shel Shelomoh (1615), a study of several individual treatises of the Talmud. He died in Lublin on November 7, 1573, several years before his major commentaries were published. Luria approaches the question of suicide in his commentary On Bava Kamma, dealing particularly with the authoritative tradition concerning the suicide of Saul in the Hebrew Bible [q.v.] and the story of Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon’s martyrdom in Avodah Zarah [q.v., under Babylonian Talmud and under Tosafot]. Luria contributes interpretations of the prohibition of suicide, a prohibition that had long since become general within Judaism. Arguing that allowing or even encouraging others to kill themselves can in some circumtances be permissible; that even setting the house on fire is somehow akin to letting things happen rather than to direct self-killing; and that Saul’s suicide was permissible not because he sought to spare himself suffering, but rather to save the lives of many others. At the same time he draws a distinction between actively committing suicide and allowing oneself to be killed, concluding that the latter is allowable while the act of self-killing is prohibited, even in cases of torture and coercion to commit sin.

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Source Solomon ben Jehiel Luria, Yam shel Shelomoh On Bava Kamma 8:59. Tr. Baruch Brody.

from ON BAVA KAMMA It seems to me that even if one is captured by the idolators and he is afraid that they will torture him until he worships idols, he should not kill himself. He should do his best to endure the tortures.... One should let oneself be killed and not commit these sins, and this is not considered suicide, as Asheri says that it is not considered suicide when one allows himself to be killed [rather than commit idolatry]. But to kill himself is certainly prohibited. And that is what we find in the case of Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon.... But he did ask others to hasten his death. But if one is afraid that they will torture him because of other Jews, and many lives will be lost, as some rulers have forced one Jew to falsely testify against all the others so that afterwards many died, then he is permitted to kill himself. And perhaps Saul thought of this when he fell on his sword. He thought that if he was captured alive, they would mock him and torture him. The children of Israel would not be able to see and hear the suffering of the king, and they would not think of their lives, but would avenge him and save him and many thousands would die.... To save the lives of others it is permissible to kill oneself.... Nevertheless, one can set the house afire so that he and his children will be burned to death in a time of decrees [i.e, persecutions], and this is not considered suicide, but like letting oneself be killed, and this is permissible. Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon also asked [the executioner] to hasten his death, but he would not do it himself by opening his mouth to allow in the fire, as this is literally committing suicide.

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN INDIGENOUS CULTURES (documented 1519–1621) Selections extended in the Digital Archive or that appear in their entirety in the Archive may be accessed through this single QR code. CENTRAL AMERICA Aztec #1. Codex Chimalpopoca (1570) The Death of Quetzalcoatl #2. Letters from Mexico (Hernán Cortés, 1519–20) #3. General History of the Things of New Spain (The Florentine Codex)

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The Festival in the Month of Tóxcatl The Sun, Moon, and Stars, and the Binding of the Years (Bernardino de Sahagún, c. 1565) #4. Monarchia Indiana Chimalpopoca’s Victory in Death ( Juan de Torquemada, 1609–15) #5. In Defense of the Indians (Bartolomé de Las Casas, 1548–50) Maya #6. Popol Vuh History of the Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque How the People Obtained Fire (dictated in K’iche’, c. 1554–58; Francisco Ximénez, c. 1701) #7.  An Account of the Affairs of Yucatán Ixtab:Goddess of the Gallows (Diego de Landa, c. 1570) Caribbean Peoples #8. Natural History of the West Indies Suicide on the Death of the Chief (Gonzalo Férnández de Oviedo, 1526) #9. La Historia Géneral de las Indias Suicide, Smallpox, and the Arrival of the Spaniards (Francisco López de Gómara, 1552) #10. History of the New World Suffering at the Hands of the Spaniards (Girolamo Benzoni, 1565) SOUTH AMERICA Inca #11. The Incas The Burial of Wives (Pedro de Cieza de León, 1553) #12. Natural & Moral History of the Indies Of Superstitions They Used to the Dead ( José de Acosta, 1589) #13. The Extirpation of Idolatry in Peru What Those Who Hang Themselves Really Are (Pablo José de Arriaga, 1621)

The Mesoamerican cultures, including the Aztec and Maya, the peoples of the Caribbean Islands, and the Inca of South America, were among the many cultural groups inhabiting the western hemisphere at the time contact was established between the Americas and Europe; there are still some 170 indigenous

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tribes speaking distinctive languages in Mexico alone, and 31 different Mayan languages and groups. Some groups among those who had migrated across Beringia into North America had continued to move south into Central and South America, eventually establishing large and sophisticated cities and empires. Among the major sites were Tenochtitlan (the Aztec, or Mexica, capital in the location now known as Mexico City), Palenque (one of many major Mayan city and temple complexes), and Machu Picchu, now believed to have been the summer capital of the Inca empire. About a fifth of the global population lived in the Americas at the time of contact with Europeans, and although estimates vary widely, the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca populations all clearly numbered in the millions at the height of these civilizations. Europeans arrived in the Americas in 1492. Despite popular assumptions that the native inhabitants of the New World were conquered by the sword and the cross, especially by Spanish conquistadores interested in gold and in military domination and Jesuits engaged in religious conversion, most of the indigenous populations were killed by European disease—smallpox, measles, typhus, plague, influenza, malaria, and yellow fever—diseases to which New World populations had never been exposed and had no immunity. Entire peoples in the Americas were virtually wiped out, like the Caribbean group known as the Taino living on Hispaniola, where Columbus had landed in December of 1492. Most other indigenous populations were reduced to remnants of their original numbers, in many places an 80–90% decline. The so-called Black Legend blames Spanish cruelty and injustice for the decimation of the Indians and, in doing so, identifies a major factor in the catastrophic population decline in the New World and the destruction of once-powerful pre-contact civilizations. Other factors, including famine, collapse of the ruling class, intergroup warfare, and other forms of social upheaval, are still under debate as contributors to these societies’ eventual collapse even before the arrival of the Spanish, but it was disease that took the greatest toll. Whether practices of human sacrifice contributed to the collapse or were practices of these societies that marked their zeniths, the archeological remains of the Mesoamerican cultures provide extensive records of practices related to suicide, including bloodletting and autosacrifice, self-immolation, live burial of wives and retainers, decapitation, and—especially among the Aztecs—heart sacrifice. The art and architecture of the Formative, Classic, and Post-classic periods of these cultures, including those like the Maya with highly developed iconographic systems, show that death-producing practices were a central part of pre-contact life. What accounts for these practices is still a subject of dispute. Michael Harner’s thesis, promulgated in the late 1970s, that human sacrifice and the associated institutionalized cannibalism among the Aztecs were a product of protein scarcity—caused by seasonal crop failures, the depletion of wild game, and the lack of domestic animal food sources in a region that, though itself fertile, was surrounded by poor farmland—has not been supported by the evidence. Human sacrifice in this and other cultures, according to a more recent examination of the evidence by Michael Windelman, is associated with high population density, population pressure, and war for land and resources; human sacrifice may also play a role in ideological integration. Nevertheless, whatever the background ecological and social explanation of human sacrifice, the degree to which these practices should be understood as suicide or suicide-like actions depends in part on the motivation with which they were undertaken and the way they were understood by those involved in and subject to these practices—that is, the degree to which they were perceived as self-initiated, and whether they were involuntary, socially required but not desired, or elective.

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It is also a function of the extent to which the religious violence of human sacrifice was, as David Carrasco modifies René Girard’s claim, the “public heart and soul of the sacred.” Determining this is a considerable challenge in these cultures, since easily interpretable primary narratives do not survive. Although extensive archeological and anthropological research has expanded contemporary knowledge of indigenous cultures, most of the textual sources about pre-Columbian life come from the accounts of the European conquerors, missionaries, and explorers who first came into contact with these societies. These early accounts, a number of which are presented here, are clearly influenced by the assumptions and biases the Europeans brought to their observations, yet they do provide some idea of indigenous cultural beliefs and practices concerning suicide before these societies succumbed to conquest and disease. It is the records of Spanish conquistadores and priests like Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo (selection #8), Hernán Cortés (selection #2), Bartolomé de Las Casas (selection #5), and Bernardino de Sahagún (selection #3), often reporting oral testimony from native informants, that constitute the vast majority of extant eyewitness accounts. Of course, it can hardly be supposed that these texts give a fully accurate account of native beliefs and practices about suicide unaffected by cultural influences from Europe; they have clearly been filtered through European eyes, especially as influenced by the Spanish Inquisition. Some—like the distortion of the indigenous understanding of the various parts of the body as having different energies into the concept of a unified soul—were comparatively modest, and some—like Diego de Landa’s account of the “goddess of the gallows,” Ixtab, who especially favored suicides by hanging (selection #10)—were, it is claimed, an outright fabrication. Yet because these accounts were filtered through a set of European religious and cultural assumptions that were quite different from those of contemporary assumptions—at that time, Western thought saw suicide primarily as crime and sin, rather than, as in modern times, the consequence of mental illness and psychopathology—it may be easier to arrive at an informative view about these cultures than modern ethnopsychology permits. Furthermore, stark reductions in the populations of the New World meant severe cultural disruption brought about by both the destruction of records and the interruption of oral traditions. The early accounts presented here, although often strongly biased and grossly exaggerated, provide in some ways the closest available access to pre-contact views, since after contact and exposure to a newly dominant group, a population will adopt new forms of explanation. Thus, these early sources provide our closest look at these cultures’ views of suicide and related practices in sacrifice. Much of what we might now describe as suicide in these cultures was not apparently viewed as problematic then, and certainly not conceptualized in the same ways. Most of these early accounts, colored by assumptions about the superiority of the Europeans and the inferiority or savagery of the native inhabitants of the Americas, as well as about the truth of the Catholic faith and the idolatrous nature of native religion, emphasize the bizarre character of the religious and cultural practices of the peoples described, especially when those involve bloodletting, suicide, human sacrifice, and cannibalism. In contrast, a few early observers, notably Bartolomé de Las Casas, the Dominican friar and then bishop known as the “Protector of the Indians,” emphasized the cruelty of the Spanish and other European invaders. In his sympathetic Defense of the Indians (selection #5), directed against “the persecutors and slanderers of the peoples of the new world discovered across the seas,” Las Casas viewed indigenous practices like bloodletting and human sacrifice as evidence, in theological terms, of probable error resulting from genuine but misguided religiosity on the part of indigenous peoples.

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The Selections Aztec The Aztecs, or Mexica, invaded the valley of Mexico around the 13th century a.d. after the 12th- century decline of the resident Toltecs, eventually settling on an island in the western part of Lake Texcoco and establishing the twin (and often rival) cities of Tenochtitlán and Tlatelolco around 1325. The name Aztec refers to their traditional place of origin at Aztlán. The Aztecs, one of the last waves of Nahua migration from the north, like many other groups in the region, spoke a dialect of Nahuatl; Nahuatl languages are still spoken in central Mexico by about 1.5 million people. Aztec society was both militaristic and agricultural, emphasizing cycles of birth and death; their cities were built around immense ceremonial complexes of temples. Human sacrifice, for which the Aztecs are known, predated the rise of the Aztecs and had religious importance throughout Mesoamerica. The murals of Teotihuacán, the great metropolis of the pre-Aztec Classic period, show that sacrifice of the heart was a particularly important ritual. Heart sacrifice is depicted explicitly in one Teotihuacán mural in which two coyotes are shown extracting the still-beating heart of a deer; these animal figures represent human capacities. Aztec sacrifices corresponded to important dates in the cycle of the sun calendar or to astronomical events like eclipses. Architectural structures at the Templo Mayor (now excavated and visible in Mexico City) display banks of skulls of sacrificial captives, and in one offering cache can be seen the skeletal remains of 42 children sacrificed to the rain gods. Noble women and slaves were also sacrificed, and the “flower wars” with neighboring groups were conducted for the purpose of obtaining captive warriors for sacrifice. The Spaniard Hernán Cortés landed on the coast of Mexico on April 22, 1519. Two years later, Cortés, having won over the Tlaxcala--who were engaged in a flower war with the—as allies, stormed Tenochtitlán and Tlatelolco. Although the Aztecs did keep pictorial codices, the extant records were burned twice, once by the ruling elite of Tenochtitlán and once by the Spanish missionaries eager to eliminate references to a pre-Christian past. Each time these records were destroyed, new histories arose to take their place. Selection #1 is taken from one of these new histories, the Codex Chimalpopoca. It recounts Aztec mythology about the earlier Toltecs, the historic inhabitants of Tula whom the Aztecs revered as the ancestors of their rulers. Tolpiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, whose lifetime is dated in the Codex with a year count employing four names, Flint, House, Rabbit, Reed, and 13 numbers, at 817–895 a.d., is said to have been conceived when his mother Chimalman swallowed a piece of jade. The narrative describes Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl’s life, how he abolished human sacrifice, and was driven into exile by his rivals, including the god-sorcerer Tezcatlipoca. Quetzalcoatl is deceived by the sorcerer into drunkenness and then incest with his sister; in remorse and political weakness, still pursued by the sorcerer, Quetzalcoatl immolates himself in a sacred bonfire, his soul rising to the heavens to become Venus, the morning star. In addition to Quetzalcoatl, Aztec religion recognized two other major deities, Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc; human sacrifice was often performed to these and lesser gods. Among the Aztecs, human blood was believed necessary to sustain and renew the world and often involved heart sacrifice. Hernán Cortes, in his first and second letters, dated July 10, 1519, and October 13, 1520, respectively (selection #2), in which he described the culture of the indigenous people whom his forces had conquered, portrays the Aztec practices of human sacrifice

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vividly, arguing that the repugnance of these practices justifies the imposition of Christianity, if necessary by force. Bernardino de Sahagún (1499–1590), a Franciscan friar who had arrived in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán in 1529, describes ceremonies of human sacrifice prepared for in a particularly elaborate way. Sahagún’s General History of the Things of New Spain, also called The Florentine Codex (selection #3), is regarded as a reliable source of information about Aztec culture in part because he learned the Aztec language, Nahuatl, and could interview native speakers who knew no Spanish and nothing of Spanish culture. Sahagún’s informants also replied to his questions in hieroglyphic paintings, some of which are still extant. In addition, Sahagún painstakingly cross-checked his accounts among multiple sources. In the second part of selection #3, from Book 7 of The Florentine Codex, Sahagún relates the Aztec myth of the creation of the sun and moon. Two deities, Tecuciztecatl, the privileged god, and Nanauatzin, who is poor, attempt to sacrifice themselves on a pyre so that they can become the sun of our world. Tecuciztecatl, who goes first, shrinks back from the fire four times and thus becomes only the moon; Nanauatzin lets himself burn without hesitation and instead becomes the sun. When the new sun and moon have not moved in the sky, the other gods, except one who must be forced, decide to sacrifice themselves too in order to give the sun power. However, the gods’ sacrifices are not enough, and Ecatl, the wind god, having sacrificed the other gods, must still drive the sun and moon across the sky. In the other part of selection #2, also from The Florentine Codex, Sahagún describes how youths were chosen to be sacrificed to the god Tezcatlipoca in annual festivities occurring in the spring month Tóxcatl: a young man with an unblemished body was prepared for sacrifice for a year before the festival and worshipped as the image of the god before his ultimate death, climaxing in removal of the heart and subsequent decapitation at the summit of the temple steps. Human sacrifice did not always involve individual attention: in some ceremonies, war prisoners were ritually sacrificed, singly or by the thousands; it is claimed that somewhere between 10,000 and 80,400 persons were sacrificed at the inauguration of the great temple, the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlán, now Mexico City, in the year 1487 a.d., only a few decades before the arrival of the Spanish. To varying degrees, victims of the various forms of sacrifice were unwilling, willing, or eager to play this role. Central to Aztec belief was the notion of indebtedness, the belief that because the gods had sacrificed themselves in creating the earth and the human beings who inhabited it, human beings were obligated to repay the debt by sacrificing themselves in return. Offerings of incense, food, flowers, animals, tobacco, and so on were made to the gods, but it was human blood that nourished them—especially the sun—and would enable the sun, rain, processes of growth, and other natural forces to continue to support human beings. Self-sacrifice, thus, was a sort of exchange, the repayment of the created being’s great debt, and was rewarded by going to live with the Sun, the Moon, or other deities in their diurnal courses or other natural processes. Thus, to sacrifice oneself or be sacrificed was a privilege, not a penalty. Many of those sacrificed are said to have gone to their deaths without fear, knowing they would live again with these gods—but others had to be dragged to the places of sacrifice. Suicide could also be seen as preferable to being killed. In his Monarchia Indiana (selection #4), Juan de Torquemada (c. 1557–1624), a friar and respected recorder of Aztec history, reports that the third king of Tenochtitlan, Chimalpopoca, having been defeated by his relative, the Emperor Maxtla, first attempted to sacrifice himself and finally hanged himself to escape the indignity of death by starvation in a cage, thus achieving victory in death.

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Of particular interest is Bartolomé de Las Casas’s Defense of the Indians (selection #5), in that he attempts to employ Catholic theology with its emphasis on the centrality of sacrifice to God to examine human sacrifice as evidence of the religious devotion, rather than depravity, of the indigenous peoples. “The greatest way to worship God is to offer him sacrifice,” he writes, “every man owes God more than his life.” Las Casas says he understands indigenous practices in this way, even if they are misguided in the gods to whom they are addressed. They are not grounds for waging war against these peoples. Maya The religious overtones present in most Mesoamerican accounts of suicide are even more explicit in the European depictions of Maya civilization. The Preclassic or Formative Period of Maya civilization began in the third millennium b.c. and lasted to approximately 300 a.d., eventually giving way to the Maya Classic Period, c. 320–909 a.d., a time characterized by the formation of distinctive scientific and cultural achievements, including an extraordinarily sophisticated calendar and system of astronomical prediction. At its height, the domain of the Mayan groups extended throughout southern Mexico, the Yucatan, Belize, Guatemala, and western portions of El Salvador and Honduras. As among the Aztec, death-producing practices were numerous. Mayan stelae at ritual centers like Toniná, for instance, show the sacrifice of defeated kings and war captives; glyphs at Yaxchilán depict decapitation and autosacrifice; and murals at Bonampak show the capture and torture of captives for sacrifice. Reliefs of the ball court at Chichen Itza show players being sacrificed; it is thought that these were the defeated players, although some sources claim they were the winning players. Vase paintings at Palenque also illustrate human sacrifice. Ritual objects for sacrifice recovered in excavations include highly decorated knives and special bowls for holding just-extracted human hearts. As Linda Schele and Mary Ellen Miller have argued, while in recent history, the Maya were assumed to be nonviolent in comparison to the Aztecs, in fact, war and human sacrifice were central to Mayan religion and culture throughout the Classic period. Mayan religion identified its gods with the natural world, especially forces that affected agriculture. According to the Popol Vuh creation myth (selection #6), dictated in K’iche’ Mayan to Dominican friars in Guatemala between 1554 and 1558, and later rediscovered and translated into Spanish by Francisco Ximénez, the gods fashioned human beings from maize dough so that humans could worship and sustain them. The Mayan universe was divided into several parts:the heavens, containing 14 layers, of which the earth was the lowest, and the underworld, which consisted of nine layers. The Maya were also said to believe in the immortality of the human soul, though this may not have been a unified concept but rather one shaped by European interpreters. As among the Aztecs, the sacrifice of human blood was seen by the Maya as necessary for the sustenance of cosmic order; indeed, as Schele and Miller put it, “the very existence of the universe depended upon the willingness of human beings to sustain the gods with their blood offerings.” Human blood, the nourishment of the gods, was essential to keep the sun in its course and to prevent it from sinking below the world forever. Bloodletting rituals also formed an important part of Mayan culture, involving piercing of the tongue, earlobes, and genitals, as a public institution and means of gaining public merit and respect. The bloodletting ritual “was basic to the institution of rulership.”

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The sun and moon are sacrifices themselves in Mayan mythology. The second part of the Popol Vuh (selection #6) tells the story of how, before the successful creation of humans, the hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque became the sun and moon of our world. Having willingly sacrificed themselves in Xibalba, the Mayan underworld, the twins come back to life with the ability to kill and resurrect themselves and others. Returning to Xibalba, the twins demonstrate their powers and convince the Xibalban lords to kill themselves, but they do not bring them back to life. With Xibalba defeated, the twins rise into the sky where they appear as the sun and moon. In another passage from the third part of the Popol Vuh, the god of fire demands that human sacrifice, including heart sacrifice, must be paid to him in exchange for the gift of fire to the community. Diego de Landa (1524–79), a zealous Catholic Spaniard who spent most of his life in the Yucatan, claimed that Mayan belief held that wrongdoers would suffer intensely in the lowest hell, called Mitnal, while those who committed suicide by hanging, along with other good people—warriors killed in battle and women dying in childbirth—would enjoy a heavenly bliss. Suicides would be watched over by the goddess Ixtab, who, among her other roles, served as the goddess of suicide and the gallows. De Landa’s Relación de las cosas de Yucatán, from which this text is taken (selection #7), provides the fullest account of the ancient Maya to have survived the early colonial period and may provide particularly direct evidence of pre-contact Yucatec beliefs, though whether it is reliable is not clear:De Landa was known for his use of torture in interrogating native subjects (“nothing can be extracted from an Indian without torture,” he said), and some scholars suggest that the Relación was written to form part of his defense in an investigation of his inquisitorial activities—hence its purpose of describing idolatrous practices among the Indians. Indeed, some contemporary scholars argue that his account of Ixtab is a fabrication designed to serve his own zealous agenda. A figure said to be the goddess Ixtab is shown in the eclipse tables of the Dresden Codex hanging from the sky with a noose around her neck; her eyes are closed, and black circles, a sign of decomposition, appear on her cheeks. If Mayan belief recognized a goddess of suicide favorable to those who killed themselves by hanging, it might in part explain the frequency of suicidal behavior observed by the Spanish invaders. Diego López de Cogolludo (1613–65), for example, said of a man who had committed suicide that “. . . the arrogance of this Indian was such, that being so badly wounded, to avoid its being said he died at the hands of that Spaniard, he went away and in the presence of his own people he hanged himself with a liana. . . .” Caribbean Peoples According to early chronicles presented in the next three selections, suicide was also practiced in individual and group forms in the islands of the Caribbean, especially those now known as Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Haiti/Dominican Republic. Gonzalo Fernándo de Oviedo (1478–1557), whom some commentators have called a “man of balanced judgment,” includes examples of suicide in his Natural Historia de las Indias (1526), the first official history of the western hemisphere (selection #8). Oviedo writes that “in some of the islands” where poisonous yucca grows (“San Juan [Puerto Rico], Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola”), it was said that group suicide often occurred at the death of a chief or principal lord by means of yucca juice. According to Oviedo, those who had served the chief believed that dying with him would provide a passage to serving the master in a heavenly afterlife;

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if, however, the servants chose to die naturally or by some other cause, their spirits would not be granted any sort of afterlife at all. The native inhabitants of Hispaniola were said not only to commit suicide to gain rewards in the afterlife, but also to kill themselves in order to avoid suffering in this life. López de Gómara (1511–66), a chaplain to Hernán Cortés and early historian (who never himself visited the New World), reports in La Historia General de las Indias (1552), that the native American population resorted to suicide to escape Spanish domination (selection #9). In selection #10, Girolamo Benzoni (1519–70), an Italian who combined the reports of Martire de D’Anghiera, Oviedo, and others with his own observations in the Caribbean, Central America, and Peru, insists that the native inhabitants aborted their children and killed themselves in various ways—including hanging themselves by their own hair—to avoid Spanish religion and government. Benzoni’s account has been widely repeated by those emphasizing the cruelty of the Spanish.

Inca The Incas were originally a tribe of primarily Quechua-speaking native Americans who lived in the central Andean highlands, an area near and around modern-day Peru. In the 15th century a.d., the Incas moved into social and cultural prominence by assimilating or conquering the inhabitants of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, western Argentina, southern Columbia, and northern Chile, thus assuming control over an estimated 10million indigenous people. Just a few decades later, they themselves succumbed to a tiny Spanish force led by the ruthless Spaniard Francisco Pizarro and to the ravages of European-introduced disease. At the height of the Inca empire, officials used a decimal system of reckoning to make census counts, keeping their records on quipus, knotted strings (a system still used by indigenous peoples in the highlands in keeping counts of their sheep and llamas), and exercised rigid control over both male and female commoners in agricultural, laboring, and military service. Although most women were allowed to marry and lead ordinary domestic lives, some—those of particular beauty and health—were chosen as young girls to undergo special training and were either assigned to the temple of the sun, given to nobles as secondary wives, or sacrificed on ritual occasions. Several early accounts of Inca practices involve ritual funeral suicide. In the first of these selections (selection #11), Pedro de Cieza de León (1520–54) describes the manner in which, when a man was entombed, his favorite wives, his servants, his property, and a “great quantity” of food and drink were also buried with him. While it is not clear whether the deaths of the wives and servants are to be described as voluntary—they were clearly heavily socially controlled—Cieza de León also reports that some women, fearing they would not find a place in the tomb with the wives who were buried alive, hanged themselves by their own hair. In selection #12, Joseph de Acosta describes the funeral of the great Inca emperor Huyana Capac, the father of Atahualpa, at the time the Spaniards conquered the Incas: at this funeral, more than a thousand people were put to death in order to be buried with the dead ruler. “. . . [T]‌hese that were appointed to death,” says de Acosta, “held themselves happy.” As with the Aztec and Maya, this description suggests a death-producing practice short of self-initiated suicide, but involving willing subjection to death. In the final selection,

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#13, yet another Jesuit, Joseph de Arriaga, describes a case of suicide in a way that reveals the tensions between Inca and Spanish culture: the Incas, he says, hold those who hang themselves as “more than human,” for which reason, he speculates, they commit suicide so easily; but the Spanish regard suicide as a shameful act and attempt to discourage it by burning the corpse of a victim as an example. It can hardly be supposed that accounts of pre-contact native beliefs and practices in Central and South America made by European soldiers and missionaries are not shaped by these invaders’ antecedent views about suicide, but these accounts do suggest that Europeans encountered strikingly different attitudes about suicide in the New World.

CENTRAL AMERICA AZTEC

[#1]  from Codex Chimalpopoca (1570) The Death of Quetzalcoatl (in Archive only)

[#2]  from Letters from Mexico (Hernán Cortés, 1519–20) The First Letter . . . and rooms for slaves and servants of which they have many. Each of these chieftains [at Tenochtitlan] has in front of the entrance to his house a very large courtyard and some two or three or four of them raised very high with steps up to them and all very well built. Likewise they have their shrines and temples with raised walks which run all around the outside and are very wide; there they keep the idols which they worship, some of stone, some of clay and some of wood, which they honor and serve with such customs and so many ceremonies that many sheets of paper would not suffice to give Your Royal Highnesses a true and detailed account of them all. And the temples where they are kept are the largest and the best and the finest built of all the buildings found in the towns; and they are much adorned with rich hanging cloths and featherwork and other fineries. Each day before beginning any sort of work they burn incense in these temples and sometimes sacrifice their own persons, some cutting their tongues, others their ears, while there are some who stab their bodies with knives. All the blood which flows from them they offer to those idols, sprinkling it in all parts of the temple, or sometimes throwing it into the air or performing many other ceremonies, so that nothing is begun without sacrifice having first been made. They have a most horrid and abominable custom which truly ought to be punished and which until now we have seen in no other part, and this is that, whenever they wish to ask something of the idols, in order that their plea may find more acceptance, they take many girls and boys and even adults, and in the presence of the idols they open their chests while they are still alive and take out

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their hearts and entrails and burn them before the idols, offering the smoke as sacrifice. Some of us have seen this, and they say it is the most terrible and frightful thing they have ever witnessed. This these Indians do so frequently that, as we have been informed, and, in part, have seen from our own experience during the short while we have been here, not one year passes in which they do not kill and sacrifice some fifty persons in each temple; and this is done and held as customary from the island of Cozumel to this land where we now have settled. Your Majesties may be most certain that, as this land seems to us to be very large, and to have many temples in it, not one year has passed, as far as we have been able to discover, in which three or four thousand souls have nor been sacrificed in this manner. Let Your Royal Highnesses consider, therefore, whether they should not put an end to such evil practices, for certainly Our Lord God would be well pleased if by the hand of Your Royal Highnesses these people were initiated and instructed in our Holy Catholic Faith, and the devotion, trust and hope which they have in these their idols were transferred to the divine power of God; for it is certain that if they were to worship the true God with such fervor, faith and diligence, they would perform many miracles. And we believe that it is not without cause that Our Lord God has been pleased that these parts be discovered in the name of Your Royal Highnesses so that Your Majesties may gain much merit and reward in the sight of God by commanding that these barbarous people be instructed and by Your hands be brought to the True Faith. For, as far as we have been able to learn, we believe that had we interpreters and other people to explain to them the error of their ways and the nature of the True Faith, many of them, and perhaps even all, would soon renounce their false beliefs and come to the true knowledge of God; for they live in a more civilized and reasonable manner than any other people we have seen in these parts up to the present....

The Second Letter ... All these towers are burial places of chiefs, and the chapels therein are each dedicated to the idol which he venerated.... ... The most important of these idols, and the ones in whom they have most faith, Ihad taken from their places and thrown down the steps; and Ihad those chapels where they were cleaned, for they were full of the blood of sacrifices; and Ihad images of Our Lady and of other saints put there, which caused Mutezuma and the other natives some sorrow.... Mutezuma and many of the chieftains of the city were with me until the idols were removed, the chapel cleaned and the images set up, and Iurged them not to sacrifice living creatures to the idols, as they were accustomed, for, as well as being most abhorrent to God, Your Sacred Majesty’s laws forbade it and ordered that he who kills shall be killed. And from then on they ceased to do it, and in all the time Istayed in that city Idid not see a living creature killed or sacrificed. The figures of the idols in which these people believe are very much larger than the body of a big man. They are made of dough from all the seeds and vegetables which they eat, ground and mixed together, and bound with the blood of human hearts which those priests tear out while still beating. And also after they are made they offer them more hearts and anoint their faces with the blood. Everything has an idol dedicated to it, in the same manner as the pagans who in antiquity honored their gods....

Source [#2] Hernan Cortes, Letters from Mexico. Tr. and ed. Anthony Pagden. NewYork:Grossman Publishing, 1971; New Haven and London:Yale University Press, 1986, pp.35–37, 106–107.

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[#3]  from General History of the Things of New Spain (TheFlorentine Codex) (Bernardino de Sahagún, c. 1565) The Festival in the Month of Tóxcatl This festival was the most important of all the festivals. It was like Easter, and it occurred near the feast of Resurrection, a few days later. This young man, raised as has been said [with all luxuries, for a year], had a very good appearance [with no flaw on his body] and was chosen from among many. He had long hair down to his waist. When in this festival they killed the young man who had been prepared for this, then they set another apart, who would die within a year. He would go through all the town adorned with flowers in his hand and with persons who accompanied him. He would greetall of those whom he met graciously. All knew that that one was the image of Tezcatlipoca and they prostrated themselves before him and worshipped him wherever they encountered him. Twenty days before this festival, they would give this young man four very attractive young women, who had been raised for this, with whom he would have carnal intercourse for all the twenty days. They would change his dress when they gave him these girls. They would cut his hair like a captain, and they would give him other more beautiful garments. Five days before he died, they would give him festivals and banquets in fresh and delightful places. Many important people would accompany him. When the day arrived on which he would die, they would take him to a cu, or a place of prayer, that they called Tlacochcalco, and before they arrived there, in a place that they called Tlapitzoayan, the women separated themselves from him and left him. When they arrived at the place where they would kill him, he himself went up the steps and on each one of them, tore into pieces one of the flutes he had been playing all year. When he arrived at the top, they threw him on the block. They took out his heart and they took the body down in palms. Below, they cut off his head and attached it to a pole that they called Tzompantli. Many other ceremonies took place during this festival....

The Sun, Moon, and Stars, and the Binding of the Years ... It is told that when yet [all] was in darkness, when yet no sun had shone and no dawn had broken—it is said—the gods gathered themselves together and took counsel among themselves there at Teotihuacan. They spoke; they said among themselves:

“Come hither, O gods! Who will carry the burden? Who will take it upon himself to be the sun, to bring the dawn?” And upon this, one of them who was there spoke:Tecuciztecatl presented himself. He said:“O gods, Ishall be the one.” And again the gods spoke:“[And] who else?” Thereupon they looked around at one another. They pondered the matter. They said to one another:“How may this be? How may we decide?” None dared; no one else came forward. Everyone was afraid; they [all] drew back. And not present was one man, Nanauatzin; he stood there listening among the others to that which was discussed. Then the gods called to this one. They said to him:“Thou shalt be the one, O Nanauatzin.”

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He then eagerly accepted the decision; he took it gladly. He said:“It is well. O gods; you have been good to me.” Then they began now to do penance. They fasted four days—both Tecuciztecatl [and Nanauatzin]. And then, also, at this time, the fire was laid. Now it burned, there in the hearth. They named the hearth teotexcalli. And this Tecuciztecatl:that with which he did penance was all costly. His fir branches [were] quetzal feathers, and his grass balls [were] of gold; his maguey spines [were] of green stone; the reddened, bloodied spines [were] of coral. And his incense was very good incense. And [as for] Nanauatzin, his fir branches were made only of green water rushes—green reeds bound in threes, all [making], together, nine bundles. And his grass balls [were] only aromatic weeds. And his maguey spines were these same maguey spines. And the blood with which they were covered [was] his own blood. And [for] his incense, he used only the scabs from his sores, [which] he lifted up. For these two, for each one singly, a hill was made. There they remained, performing penances for four nights. They are now called pyramids—the pyramid of the sun and the pyramid of the moon. And when they ended their four nights of penitence, then they went to throw down and cast away, each one, their fir branches, and, indeed, all with which they had been performing penances. This was done at the time of the lifting [of the penance]; when, well into the night, they were to do their labor; they were to become gods. And when midnight had come, thereupon [the gods] gave them their adornment; they arrayed them and readied them. To Tecuciztecatl they gave his round, forked heron feather headdress and his sleeveless jacket. But [as for] Nanauatzin, they bound on his headdress of mere paper and tied on his hair, called his paper hair. And [they gave him] his paper stole and his paper breech clout. And when this was done, when midnight had come, all the gods proceeded to encircle the hearth, which was called teotexcalli, where for four days had burned the fire. On both sides [the gods] arranged themselves in line, and in the middle they set up, standing, these two, named Tecuciztecatl and Nanauatzin. They stood facing and looking toward the hearth. And thereupon the gods spoke:They said to Tecuciztecatl:“Take courage, O Tecuciztecatl; fall—cast thyself—into the fire!” Upon this, he went [forward] to cast himself into the flames. And when the heat came to reach him, it was insufferable, intolerable, and unbearable; for the hearth had blazed up exceedingly, a great heap of coals burned, and the flames flared up high. Thus he went terrified, stopped in fear, turned about, and went back. Then once more he set out, in order to try to do it. He exerted himself to the full, that he might cast and give himself to the flames. And he could in no way dare to do it. When again the heat reached him, he could only turn and leap back. He could not bear it. Four times indeed—four times in all—he was thus to act and try; then no more could he cast himself into the fire. For then [he might try] only four times. And when he had ended [trying] four times, thereupon they cried out to Nanauatzin. The gods said to him:“Onward, thou, O Nanauatzin! Take heart!” And Nanauatzin, daring all at once, determined—resolved—hardened his heart, and shut firmly his eyes. He had no fear; he did not stop short; he did not falter in fright; he did not turn back. All at once he quickly threw and cast himself into the fire; once and for all he went. Thereupon he burned; his body crackled and sizzled.

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And when Tecaciztecatl saw that already he burned, then, afterwards, he cast himself upon [the fire]. Thereupon he also burned.... ... And after this, when both had cast themselves into the flames, when they had already burned, then the gods sat waiting [to see] where Nanauatzin would come to rise—he who first fell into the fire—in order that he might shine [as the sun]; in order that dawn might break. When the gods had sat and been waiting for a long time, thereupon began the reddening [of the dawn]; in all directions, all around, the dawn and light extended. And so, they say, thereupon the gods fell upon their knees in order to await where he who had become the sun would come to rise.... ... And when the sun came to rise, when he burst forth, he appeared to be red; he kept swaying from side to side. It was impossible to look into his face; he blinded one with his light. Intensely did he shine. He issued rays of light from himself; his rays reached in all directions; his brilliant rays penetrated everywhere. And afterwards Tecuciztecatl came to rise, following behind him from the same place—the east—near where the sun had come bursting forth. In the same manner that they had fallen into the fire, just so they came forth. They came following each other. And so they tell it; [so] they relate the story and repeat the legend:Exactly equal had they become in their appearance, as they shone. When the gods saw them, [thus] exactly the same in their aspect, then once more there was deliberation. They said:“How may this be, O gods? Will they perchance both together follow the same path? Will they both shine together?” And the gods all issued a judgment. They said:“Thus will this be; thus will this be done.” Then one of the gods came out running. With a rabbit he came to wound in the face this Tecucizetecatl; with it he darkened his face; he killed its brilliance. Thus doth it [the moon] appear today. And when this was done, when both appeared [over the earth] together, they could, on the other hand, not move nor follow their paths. They could only remain still and motionless. So once again the gods spoke:“How shall we live? The sun cannot move. Shall we perchance live among common folk? [Let] this be, that through us the sun may be revived. Letall of us die.”

Sources [#3] Bernardino de Sahagún, Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España, “The Festival in the Month of Tóxcatl,” vol. 1 (Mexico, DF:Editorial Pedro Robredo, 1938, pp.990–991), tr. Carolyn Morrow. “Book 7:The Sun, Moon, and Stars, and the Binding of the Years,” Florentine Codex:General History of the Things of New Spain., trs. Arthur J.O. Anderson and Charles E.Dibble, Part VIII (Santa Fe:The School of American Research and the University of Utah, 1953), pp.3–9.

[#4]  from Monarchia Indiana

(Juan de Torquemada, 1609–15) Chimalpopoca’s Victory in Death With this decision he called some Mexicans and told them his intention, and declared to them the insult that it would cause to them, if perhaps he should die at the hand of King Maxtla, for the case of Tayatzin, because they would baptize this deed with the name of treachery, and that it was not reasonable that this be said of a Mexican King. And although

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they ought to “make a sentiment,” that is, be sad about it, the Mexicans came to the will of Chimalpopoca, and it seems to be thus true and then the King put in execution the plan that he had, for which (pointing out the Day) he dressed in the clothes of his god Huitzilopuchtli, and with him many Principal Gentleman and Ladies who were to die along with him, and they began to dance, and at the determined hour, when they began similar dances of sacrifices, to sacrifice their offering to the Devil, the Minister began to kill those who were dancing by his order. But as the event was public, there did not fail to be someone who went to Maxtla with the news. He quickly sent people to arrive on time so they could take Chimalpopoca, before the Priests killed him and offered him in sacrifice, and by luck it ought to be, so that he wouldn’t take that glory of having killed himself and offered [himself ] in offering and holocaust to his false God. And it is clear this is his intention; because if it were other, not only would his death not give him (Maxtla) pain, but rather he would rejoice on knowing that he (Chimalpopoca) was dead; since he already thought him an enemy of his kingdom. Maxtla’s people arrived at the place and area where the sacrifice was being carried out at the moment when there were only two more to be sacrificed, after which, as the final conclusion of the sacrifice, Chimalpopoca would die. And arriving suddenly without being heard, they caught him and carried (him) with his clothes in which he was dressed and put him in a very strong cage, that served him as a jail. The Mexicans wanted to take up arms in defense of their King; but as the Tepenecas were many, and they came ready for war, and they (the Mexicans) were having a fiesta, and unworried, their anger that this deed caused them had no effect, and the Tepanecas went away with their King Chimalpopoca very contentedly. King Chimalpopoca [was] imprisoned.... In this cage, they had Chimalpopoca imprisoned and sad, giving him ounces to eat, and seeing himself there and knowing that they had to take him from the cage to give him a cruel and rigorous death, he arranged to kill himself; and so he hanged himself in that jail where he was; considering a better death the one that his hands could give him than the one that he might receive from his enemies, as it was he triumphing over himself rather than his enemy triumphing over him, as Cleopatra and other valiant and strong pagan captains did, who because of being strong, carried out similar deeds in order not to see themselves in foreign hands, with shame and diminished valor and greatness. And this is the death and the end of this unfortunate King, the third of Mexico, and this death, here related, I have seen it painted in two different histories . . . and when I was doing part of these investigations in Mexico City, with old and wise people, there was among them a man more than sixty years old, and the one who was explaining to me the paintings in the book that we were examining said to me: Father, have this old man speak because he knows this story better than I, for he had understanding of it; and turning toward him, he said, why do you not speak? Since you are a limb from that trunk, and asking the old man about the event, the old man told me he was a descendant of King Chimalpopoca, and that it was true, that he had died hanged, and had given himself that death, in order not die at the hands of Maxtla, who would have achieved glory and dishonored the Mexican people.

Source [#4] “Chimalpopoca’s Victory in Death,” from Juan de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, 3rd edition, vol. 1 (Mexico:Editorial Salvador Chavez Hayhoe, 1943, pp.123–126), tr. Carolyn Morrow.

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[#5]  from In Defense of the Indians (Bartolomé de Las Casas, 1548–50)

The Significance of Human Sacrifice By nature, all nations know that God surpasses anything that can be imagined and that they have life and every possession from him. And by nature they understand that they owe God the greatest reverence and worship because of his incomparable excellence and majesty, and all agree that the principal act of lalria, which is owed to God alone, is sacrifice. It follows, then, that they are obliged by the natural law to offer sacrifice, by which men show, more than by any other external act, that they are grateful and subject to God. And so there has never been a nation so barbarous as not to judge by a natural impulse that sacrifice is owed to the true God or to him whom they mistakenly thought is the true God. The second proof of the first statement is what Saint Thomas says:At all times and among all nations there has always been some offering of sacrifices. And the reason for this is that natural reason tells man that he is subject to a higher being, on account of the defects which he perceives in himself, and in which he needs help and direction from someone above him, and whatever this superior being may be, it is known to all under the name of God, and consequently the offering of sacrifice is a matter of the natural law. ... On the basis of these principles one can arrive at what we taught previously:within the limits of the natural light of reason (in other words, at the point at which divine or human positive law ceases and, one may add, where grace and doctrine are lacking), men should sacrifice human victims to the true God or the reputed god, if the latter is taken for the true God. We draw this conclusion:Just as men naturally know that God exists and think that there is nothing better or greater than he, since whatever we own, are, or are capable of is given to us by his boundless goodness, we do not adequately repay him even if we offer him all that is ours, even our life. The greatest way to worship God is to offer him sacrifice. This is the unique act by which we show him to whom we offer the sacrifice that we are subject to him and grateful to him. Furthermore, nature teaches that it is just to offer God, whose debtors we admit we are for so many reasons, those things that are precious and excellent because of the surpassing excellence of his majesty. But, according to human judgment and truth, nothing in nature is greater or more valuable than the life of man or man himself. Therefore nature itself dictates and teaches those who do not have faith, grace, or doctrine, who live within the limitations of the light of nature, that in spite of every contrary positive law, they ought to sacrifice human victims to the true God or to the false god who is thought to be true, so that by offering a supremely precious thing they might be more grateful for the many favors they have received. For the natural law teaches gratitude in such a way that we not only do good to our benefactor but also try to repay him in an abundant manner for the benefits we have received, giving due consideration to the benefits, the benefactor, and the motive for which he confers the benefits on us. The kindness by which the Lord created us, endowed us with so many gifts, and enriched us with so many good things comes from his immense charity and boundless goodness and gives birth in us to innumerable good things, and even life itself, and finally, whatever we are. However, since we cannot give adequate thanks for so many favors, we are obliged to present what seems to us to be the greatest and most valuable good, that is human life, and especially when the offering

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is made for the welfare of the state. For the pagans thought that through sacrifices of this type they could divert evils from their state and gain good will and prosperity for their kingdoms. Therefore whoever sacrifices men to God can be drawn to this action by natural reason, especially if he lacks Christian faith and instruction.... Possibly the idea of human sacrifice spread from here through the whole world. Yet someone will loudly protest that this idea must not be admitted, since innocent persons are sacrificed against their will. But Ishall answer this objection as Ihave previously:Every man, no matter how innocent he may be, owes God more than his life; and so, although these persons do not will it by an explicit act, yet they perform an act that is owed, since all men are obliged to give their blood and their life whenever God’s honor demands it. We Christians, like all those who knew God during the early centuries, are obliged by divine law to do this. Now apparently there was a case in which God’s honor was involved when those upon whom the lot fell were offered as sacrifice by reason of a law in force in some kingdom. Therefore, even if they were otherwise innocent, no harm was done to them, at least in the judgment of those who did not have grace and doctrine. And this is bolstered by the fact that, according to the Philosopher, any outstanding citizen is obliged to give his life for the welfare of the state (this welfare, according to the erroneous opinion of the pagans, was thought to consist of the worship of the gods). Those who do not have the faith, then, have probable error concerning human sacrifice. . . . But if the need of the state demands that a man do or undergo all that he is capable of, that is, that he expose his life to the danger of death for the welfare of the state, undoubtedly the legislator, by his command, can lawfully oblige by the natural law to obey the mandate. This is proved from what was established just a short while ago concerning the whole and the part. For, since the citizen is a part of the whole state and his happiness or welfare depends on the welfare and good of the state, he is obliged to love the common welfare and good more than his private welfare, and therefore, in order to preserve that common welfare, he is obliged by the natural law to do and suffer all he can, even by sacrificing his life. Since, then, the pagans believe that the universal good and welfare of the whole state consists in sacrifices and immolations, that is, human victims, as we have proved elsewhere from Augustine, Chrysostom, and Valerius, it is not surprising that, when afflicted by needs, they sacrifice what in the judgment of all is most precious and pleasing to God, that is, men. This is evident from the previously cited examples. This is evident also from what Titus Livy writes:“ When their city was in very great danger, the Romans placated Mars by sacrificing a man and woman of Gaul and a Greek man and woman.” Moreover, on the supposition that the error of the pagans is probable, a legislator can and should bind some of the people by his command when there is a great need involving the whole state, so that a sacrifice should be offered by killing them. And they can be obliged to will this by an explicit act, as is clear from what has been concluded. You see, then, dear reader, that there is some probable natural reason by which men can be led to sacrifice human beings to God and, as a result, that it is not easy to persuade the Indians, within a short period or by a few words, to refrain from their traditional practice of human sacrifice.... ... All of the preceding conclusions seem to be established, and therefore it can be persuasively argued, from the fact that God commanded Abraham to sacrifice to him his only son Isaac, that it is not altogether detestable to sacrifice human beings to God.... ... Thus it is clear that it is not possible, quickly and in a few words, to make clear to unbelievers, especially ours, that sacrificing men to God is unnatural. On that account, we are

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left with the evident conclusion that knowledge that the natives sacrifice men to their gods, or even eat human flesh, is not a just cause for waging war on any kingdom. And again, this long-standing practice of theirs cannot be suddenly uprooted. And so these entirely guiltless Indians are not to be blamed because they do not come to their senses at the first words of a preacher of the gospel. For they do not understand the preacher. Nor are they bound to abandon at once their ancestral religion, for they do not understand that it is better to do so. Nor is human sacrifice—even of the innocent, when it is done for the welfare of the entire state—so contrary to natural reason that it must be immediately detested as contrary to the dictates of nature. For this error can owe its origin to a plausible proof developed by human reasoning. The preceding arguments prove that those who willingly allow themselves to be sacrificed, and all the common people in general, and the ministers who sacrifice them to the gods by command of their rulers and priests labor under an excusable, invincible ignorance and that their error should be judged leniently, even if we were to suppose that there is some judge with authority to punish these sins. If they offend God by these sacrifices, he alone will punish this sin of human sacrifice....

Source [#5] “The Significance of Human Sacrifice,” Bartolomé de Las Casas, In Defense of the Indians. The Defense of the Most Reverend Lord, Don Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, of the Order of Preachers, Late Bishop of Chiapa, Against the Persecutors and Slanderers of the Peoples of the New World Discovered Across the Seas, ch. 37, ed. and tr. Stafford Poole (DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 1974, pp. 239–243).

MAYA

[#6]  from Popol Vuh

(dictated in K’iche’, c. 1554–58; Francisco Ximénez, c. 1701) How the People Obtained Fire And they did not have fire. Only the people of Tohil had it. He was the god of the tribes which first created fire. It is not known how it was made, because it was already burning when Balam-Quitzé and Balam-Acab saw it. “Ah, we have no fire yet! We shall die of cold,” they said. Then Tohil said to them:“ Do not worry! Yours shall be the lost fire which is talked of. Yours shall be what is spoken of as lost fire,” Tohil said to them. “Really? Oh, God, our support, our maintenance, thou, our God!” they said, returning thanks. And Tohil answered:“Very well, certainly Iam your God; so shall it be! Iam your Lord; so let it be!” Thus it was told to the priests and sacrificers by Tohil. And in this manner the tribes received fire and they were joyful because of it. Instantly a great shower began to fall when the fire of the tribes was burning. Much hail fell on all the tribes and the fire was put out because of it, and again the fire was extinguished. Then Balam-Quitzé and Balam-Acab again asked Tohil for fire. “Oh, Tohil, we are truly dying of cold!” they said to Tohil.

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“Very well, do not worry,” Tohil answered, and instantly he made fire, turning about in his shoe. Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui-Balam were at once happy and immediately they became warm. Now, the fire of the peoples [of Vucamag] had also gone out and they were dying of cold. Immediately they came to ask Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui-Balam for fire. They could no longer bear the cold nor the ice; they were shivering and their teeth were chattering; they were numb; their legs and hands shook and they could not hold anything in them, when they came. “We are not ashamed to come before you, to beg for a little of your fire,” they said. But they were not well received. And then the tribes were very sad. “The speech of Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui-Balam is different! Oh! We have given up our speech! What have we done? We are lost. How were we deceived? We had only one speech when we arrived there at Tulán; we were created and educated in the same way. It is not good what we have done,” said all the tribes under the trees, under the vines. Then a man came before Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui-Balam and [this man], who was a messenger of Xibalba, spoke thus:“This is, in truth, your God; this is your support; this is, furthermore, the representation, the memory of your Creator and Maker. Do not give your fire to the tribes until they present offerings to Tohil. It is not necessary that they give anything to you. Ask Tohil what they should give when they come to receive fire,” said the man from Xibalba. He had wings like the wings of a bat. “I am sent by your Creator, your Maker,” said the man of Xibalba. They were filled with joy then, and Tohil, Avilix, and Hacavitz were also gladdened when the man from Xibalba spoke, who disappeared instantly from their presence. But the tribes did not perish when they came, although they were dying of cold. There was much hail, black rain and mist, and indescribable cold. All the tribes were trembling and shivering with cold when they came where Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui-Balam were. Their hearts were greatly troubled and their mouths and eyes were sad. In a moment the beggars came before Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui- Balam and said:“Will you not have pity on us, we only ask a little of your fire? Perchance, were we not [once] together and reunited? Did we not have the same home and one country when we were created, when we were made? Have mercy, then, on us!” they said. “What will you give us so that we shall have mercy on you?” they were asked. “Well, then, we shall give you money,” the tribes answered. “We do not want money,” said Balam-Quitzé and Balam-Acab. “And what do you want?” [asked the tribes]. “We shall ask now” [said Balam-Quitzé]. “Very well,” said the tribes. “We shall ask Tohil and then we shall tell you,” they answered. “What must the tribes give, oh, Tohil! who have come to ask for your fire?” said Balam- Quitzé, Balam-Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui-Balam. “Well! Are they willing to give their waist and their armpits? Do they want me to embrace them? For if they do not want to do that, neither shall Igive them fire,” answered Tohil.

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“Tell them that this shall come later, that they do not have to come now to give me their waist and their armpits. This is what Tohil orders us to tell you, you will say.” This was the answer to Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Acab, Mahucutah, and Iqui-Balam. Then they took Tohil’s message. “Very well, we shall join you and we shall embrace him,” they [the people] said when they heard and were told the message from Tohil. And they did not delay in acting. “Good,” they said, “but may it be soon!” And immediately they received the fire. Then they became warm.... The Cakchiquel did not ask for the fire, because they did not want to give themselves up to be overcome, the way that the other tribes had been overcome when they offered their breasts and their armpits so that they would be opened. And this was the opening [of the breasts] about which Tohil had spoken; that they should sacrifice all the tribes before him, that they should tear out their hearts from their breasts....

Source [#6] The Book of the People:Popul Vuh, trs. Delia Goetz, Sylvanus Griswold Morley, and Adrián Recino (Los Angeles: Plantin Press, 1954), Part II, chs. 12, 13, 14; Part III, chs. 5, 6. Available online at sacred-texts.org.

[#7] from Account of the Affairs of Yucatán (Diego de Landa, c. 1570)

Ixtab:Goddess of the Gallows The Maya have always believed in the immortality of the soul more than many other peoples―even though they may not be so civilized―for they believed that there was a more excellent life after death which the soul enjoyed on departure from the body. They said that this future life was divided into a good and a bad life, into a painful one and one full of peace. They said that the bad and the painful one was for the wicked and the good and delightful one for those who had lived well according to their beliefs. The easy life, which they said they would achieve if they were good, was to go to a very pleasant place where nothing would give them pain, and where they would have an abundance of food and drink of great sweetness and a tree which is there called yaxche, which is very cool and shady (and is a cotton tree), beneath whose branches and shade they would all rest and take pleasure for eternity. The punishment for a bad life, which they said that the wrongdoers would have to suffer, was to go to a lower place than the others, which they call Mitnal, meaning Hell, and there to be tormented by devils and by great extremes of hunger, cold, fatigue, and misery. There was also in this place a devil and prince of all the devils whom all obeyed, and they called him in their tongue Hunhau:They claimed that these good and evil lives had no end, because the soul had none. They also said, and held it to be absolutely true, that those who hanged themselves went to this heaven of theirs. Thus there were many who for slight reasons of sadness, troubles, or sickness hanged themselves in order to escape and to go and rest in their heaven where they said the goddess of the gallows, whom they called Ixtab, came to take them. They had no concept of the resurrection of the body and had no record of the person from whom they had heard about this heaven and hell of theirs.

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Source [#7] “Ixtab:Goddess of the Gallows,” from A.R. Pagden, ed. and tr., The Maya:Diego de Landa’s Account of the Affairs of Yucatán (Chicago:J.Philip O’Hara, 1975, p.95; quotation in introduction, p.16).

CARIBBEAN

[#8] from Natural History of the West Indies (Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo, 1526) Suicide on the Death of the Chief This species of poisonous yuca grows in great abundance on the islands of San Juan [Puerto Rico], Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola. In some of the islands where the poisonous yuca is found, occasionally there has been some Indian chief or leader and many of his subjects who have committed suicide. The chief, through the exhortations of the devil, would tell all those who wanted to die with him the reason that he thought would draw them to their diabolical end. Then each one would take swallows of the water or juice of the yuca and suddenly they would all die without any help whatsoever. In many places of Tierra Firme when a cacique or some lord dies, all the retainers of his household, both men and women, kill themselves. The devil has led them to believe that those who commit suicide when the chief dies will go with him to heaven and there serve him food and drink or continue the same work they have done in the home or the cacique on earth. Those who do not do this, they believe, when they die of some other cause, or naturally, their spirits die with the body. And all the other Indians and vassals of the chief, when they die, as has been said, their spirits die with the body. And so they die and are converted into air or into nothingness, as would happen to a pig, a bird, a fish, or any other animal. They believe that only the servants and vassals who serve the master in the house or in some particular service have and enjoy that right and pre-eminence. From that false belief it results that even those who are engaged in the cultivation of corn kill themselves in order to enjoy this blessing, and have themselves buried with a little corn and a small wooden sword. The Indians say that it is carried with them so that if in heaven there is a lack of seed, they will have enough to begin their trade, until the devil, who informs them of everything, provides them with a larger quantity of seed. In the highlands of Guaturo I was able to observe this very well. There I held prisoner the cacique of that province who had rebelled against the service of your Majesty. I asked him to explain to me the meaning of a number of graves that were in his house. He said they were the graves of Indians who had killed themselves when his father died. Since often they are buried with great quantities of wrought gold, I had two of the graves opened. There I found the corn and knives that I mentioned above. When I asked the reason, the cacique and some of his Indians said that those who had been buried there were farmers, men who knew well how to plant and harvest corn, and they were his and his father’s servants. And so that their souls would not die

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with their bodies, they had killed themselves upon the death of his father, and had the corn and knives for use in heaven. I replied that the cacique should observe that the devil had deceived him, and that everything he told them was false, for those servants had been dead a long time and still had not carried away the corn and the knives. Ialso pointed out that now the seed was rotten and worthless, and that the dead had not planted anything in heaven. To this the cacique replied that if they had not carried those things away, it was because they had found plenty in heaven and those were not needed. They were told many things about this error of theirs, from which they profit little, to remove them from their way of error, especially when they are grown men and the devil already has them ensnared.

Source [#8] “Suicide at the Death of the Chief,” from Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo, Natural History of the West Indies, tr. and ed. Sterling A.Stoudemire (Chapel Hill, NC:University of North Carolina Press, 1959, pp.17, 35–37).

[#9] from La Historia General de las Indias (Francisco López de Gómara, 1552)

Suicide, Smallpox, and the Arrival of the Spaniards Of all their laws, this is the most notable, that for whatever theft they impaled the thief, they also abhorred the avaricious a lot. They bury with the men, especially with the gentlemen, some of their most beloved women, or the most beautiful, for that is a great honor and favor. Other women want to be buried with them for love. The burial of these is ostentatious, they seat them on the tomb, and they put around them bread, water, salt, fruit, and arms. ... [Prediction of the coming of the long beards, who will conquer the people with their shining swords....] All these things happened exactly as those priests related and sang, for the Spaniards opened many Indians with knife thrusts in the wars, and even in the mines and struck down the idols on their altars without leaving one. They forbade all the rites and ceremonies that they found. They made them slaves through the actions where they divided them up, as a result of which they worked more than they used to, and in the case of others, they died and all killed themselves. Of the 15 times 100thousand and more persons that there were on that single island, now there are only 500. Some died of hunger, others from work, and many from poxes. Some killed themselves with yucca juice, and others with poisonous herbs, others hanged themselves from the trees. The women acted like their husbands, they hanged themselves alongside them [their husbands], and aborted their children with art and drink, so as not to bear children who would serve strangers. It must have been a punishment that God gave them for their sins, but the first [the Spaniards] were greatly at fault for treating them very badly, inflamed with desire for gold more than [for the welfare] of their fellow [human beings].

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Source [#9] “Suicide, Smallpox, and the Arrival of the Spaniards,” from Francisco López de Gómara, La Historia General de las Indias (En Anvers:Casa de Juan Steelsio, 1554, pp.35–36, 40), tr. Carolyn Morrow.

[#10] from History of the New World (Girolamo Benzoni, 1565)

Suffering at the Hands of the Spaniards Then other governors were successively sent to La Espanola, as well clerical as secular, till the natives, finding themselves intolerably oppressed and worked on every side, with no chance of regaining their liberty, with sighs and tears longed for death. Wherefore many went to the woods and there hung themselves, after having killed their children, saying it was far better to die rather than to live so miserably, serving such and so many ferocious tyrants and wicked thieves. The women, with the juice of a certain herb, dissipated their pregnancy, in order not to produce children, and then following the example of their husbands, hung themselves. Some threw themselves from high cliffs down precipices; others jumped into the sea; others again into rivers; and others starved themselves to death. Sometimes they killed themselves with their flint knives; others pierce their bosoms or their sides with pointed stakes. Finally, out of the two millions of original inhabitants, through the number of suicides and other deaths, occasioned by the oppressive labour and cruelties imposed by the Spaniards, there are not a hundred and fifty now to be found:and this has been their way of making Christians of them. What befell those poor islanders has happened also to all the others around:Cuba, Jamaica, Porto Rico, and other places. And although an almost infinite number of the inhabitants of the mainland have been brought to these islands as slaves, they have nearly all since died. In short, Imay say, that wherever the Spaniards have unfurled their banner, they have, by their great cruelties, inspired the inhabitants with perpetual hatred of those chiefs having heard of the horrors committed by the Spaniards wherever they went, took up arms to resist them and to defend their liberty. Yet finding, after many battles, that they were always beaten, and that already a great proportion of them were killed, and moreover, that daily reinforcements of Christians arrived from Carthagena and Sta. Martha, their hopes failed of ever being able to expel them from their country, and, overpowered by the fear of being all destroyed, they sought for peace. Thus did the Spaniards obtain the dominion of a great part of that country. Then Don Pietro di Lugo, after enduring some skirmishes with the Indians, traversed many villages, burning and robbing, but collecting a great quantity of gold and emeralds, finally returned to Sta. Martha. The oppressed natives seeing themselves persecuted in this manner on every side, were unable to sustain so much grief and suffering; abusing and inveighing against the Christian name, they used to go to the woods to hang themselves, the women as well as the men; and of those who had nothing to tie themselves up with, as they chiefly go naked, the one helped the other to tie their hair round the branches of the trees, and then letting themselves fall, with most bitter lamentations, with howls and shrieks full of terror, and filling the air with their miseries, persisted in making away with themselves.

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Source [#10] “Suffering at the Hands of the Spaniards,” from Girolamo Benzoni, History of the New World, tr. and ed. Rear-Admiral W. H. Smyth (London: Printed for the Hakluyt Society, 1857, pp. 77–78, 111–112).

SOUTH AMERICA INCA

[#11] from The Incas

(Pedro de Cieza de León, 1553) The Burial of Wives Of how the Indians of these valleys and others of these kingdoms believe that the soul departs from the body and does not die, and why they ordered their wives interred in their tombs. In the course of this history I have often alluded to the fact that in the greater part of this kingdom of Peru it is a very widespread custom generally observed by all the Indians to bury with the bodies of the dead all those possessions they most prized, and certain of their most beautiful and best-loved women. . . . ... These Indians, blinded by the words and figments of the devil, believing these fictions, gave more thought to adorning their graves or tombs than to any other thing. And when the chief died, they put with him his treasures, living women and boys, and other persons who were good friends of his when he was alive. Thus, as can be seen from what Ihave said, it was the general belief among all these Yunga Indians, and also the mountaineers of this kingdom of Peru, that the souls of the dead did not die, but lived forever, and came together with one another in the other world, where, as Isaid before, they believe that they take their pleasure and eat and drink, which is their chief delight. And firmly believing this, they buried with the dead their best-loved wives, and their closest vassals and servants, and their most prized possessions and arms and feathers, and other ornaments of their person. And many of their kinfolk, for whom there was no room in the tomb, dug holes in the fields and lands of the dead lord, or in those spots where he was most wont to sport and pleasure himself, and laid themselves in them, thinking that his soul would pass by those spots and take them along to serve him. There were even women who, to have more of a claim on him and so he would value their services more, fearing there would not be room for them in the tomb, hanged themselves by their own hair and killed themselves in this way. We all believe all these things to be true because the tombs of the dead make it manifest, and because in many places they still hold and follow this cursed custom.

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Source [#11] “The Burial of Wives,” Pedro de Cieza de León, The Incas, tr. Harriet de Onis, ed. Victor Wolfgang von Hagen (Norman, OK:University of Oklahoma Press, 1959, pp.308–310).

[#12] from Natural & Moral History of the Indies (José de Acosta, 1589)

Of Superstitions They Used to the Dead The Indians of Peru beleeved commonly that the Soules lived after this life, and that the good were in glorie and the bad in paine; so as there is little difficultie to perswade them to these articles. But they are not yet come to the knowledge of that point, that the bodies should rise with the soules. And therefore they did vse a wonderfull care, as it is saide, to preserve the bodies which they honoured after death; to this end their successors gave them garments, and made sacrifices vnto them, especially the kings Yncas, being accompanied at their funeralls with a great number of servants and women for his service in the other life and therefore on the day of his decease they did put to death the woman he had loved best, his servants and officers, that they might serve him in the other life. Whenas Huayna Ccapac died (who was father to Atahualpa, at what time the Spaniards entered), they put to death aboue a thousand persons of all ages and conditions, for his service, to accompany him in the other life; after many songs and drunkennes they slew them; and these that were appointed to death, held themselves happy.

Source [#12] “Of the Superstitions They Used to the Dead,” from José de Acosta, Natural & Moral History of the Indies, ed. Clements R. Markham, vol. II (London: The Hakluyt Society, 1880, pp.313–314).

[#13] from The Extirpation of Idolatry in Peru (Pablo José de Arriaga, 1621)

What Those Who Hang Themselves Really Are They do not dismiss those who hang themselves because of what they are. [They consider them] something more than human, and they invoke them, and call on them for some things, and it could be that this was one of the reasons why in some areas some hang themselves so easily, like the other Indian boy and prince, who while enjoying himself some months in a fiesta or drinking occasion with some Indians with whom he was not very friendly, he said one day, at the beginning of the night and at the end of the fiesta, and they understood that he said it while he tapped his feet, Ihave to see who among you has good will toward me, if he will come to hang himself with me and with this he left the house, and going to search for him here and there, thinking that he had gone a distance away, they came to find him hanged near the very house. And it must have been a little more than a month ago, that the judge holding a sorcerer prisoner with a pair of irons, and not having pressured or squeezed him at all, instead

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treating him well and feeding him from his own table, after he had been a prisoner for two days in his own room, he went out of it one night, without being heard, and with a piece of a very thin cord like those they wear on their head, which they call huaraca, he hanged himself at the door of the house, in such a way that he remained on his knees and in this posture Ifound him and ran into him in front of our chamber in the morning when Iwent out at dawn. We had him taken away outside of the town, being dragged by the feet, and burned him so that he would be a lesson for others.

Source [#13] “What Those Who Hang Themselves Really Are,” from Pablo José de Arriaga, La Extirpacion de la Idolatria en el Peru [1621] (Lima: Imprenta y Libreria Sanmarti, 1920, pp. 61, tr. Carolyn Morrow).

Additional Sources General:Michel Graulich, “El Sacrificio Humano en Mesoamérica,” Arqueologia vol. 11, no. 63 (Sept.– Oct. 2003), pp. 16–21; David Stuart, “La Ideología del Sacrificio entre los Mayas,” Arqueologia vol. 11, no. 63 (Sept.–Oct. 2003), pp. 24–29; Noble David Cook, Born to Die:Disease and New World Conquest, 1492–1650 (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1998); quotations from Linda Schele and Mary Ellen Miller, The Blood of Kings, NewYork: George Braziller/Kimbell Art Musem, 1986, pp. 14–15, 175, 181; Michael Winkelman, “Aztec Human Sacrifice:Cross-Cultural Assessments of the Ecological Hypothesis,” Ethnology 37(3):285–298 (Summer 1998); Davíd Carrasco, City of Sacrifice: The Aztec Empire and the Role of Violence in Civilization, Boston: Beacon Press, 1999, quotation in introductory paragraph, p.3.

MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE (1533–1592) from Of Cannibals (in Archive only) from A Custom of the Isle of Cea (expanded in Archive)

Lord Michel Eyquem Montaigne was born near Bordeaux, the son of the mayor of Bordeaux, a man of unusual tolerance in an age of religious intolerance. Raised speaking only Latin until the age of six, Montaigne received the very best education; he completed a 12-year course of study at the College de Guyenne in only seven years and continued his education in the study of law at the University of Toulouse. Montaigne served as counselor in the Bordeaux Parliament from 1557 to 1570. During this time, he was a courtier at the court of Charles the IX, from 1561 to 1563, and made the closest friendship of his life with Étienne de La Boétie, a poet who shared Montaigne’s interest in classical

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antiquity. Montaigne was deeply affected by the way in which La Boétie stoically accepted his death from dysentery in 1563. Montaigne and his wife, Françoise de la Chassaigne, whom he married in 1565, had six daughters, but only one of them survived childhood. Montaigne’s father died in 1568 leaving him the Chateau de Montaigne, the family estate, to which Montaigne retired in 1570 to begin work on his Essays. In 1580, Montaigne came out of seclusion to travel to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy, returning reluctantly to serve as mayor of Bordeaux for four years. Running from war and the plague, in 1586, Montaigne was forced to flee his estate; he returned shortly to the pillaged castle. Montaigne’s lasting influence rests in his Essays, which exercised considerable influence on French and English literature; Montaigne is regarded as the inventor of the modern essay. In an unabashed, intimately personal manner previously unknown in the literature of his day, he displayed the humanism of the time, arguing that the only suitable subjects for study were mankind and the human condition, subjects that he approached by describing his own thoughts, habits, and experiences in great detail. He espoused a philosophy of toleration, stoicism in the face of suffering, and skepticism, and although he remained a professing Catholic, he challenged almost all received views of theology, philosophy, religion, science, and morality. He played a major role in the development of Christian sceptical fideism. In the excerpt “Of Cannibals” from his Essays, Montaigne portrays the death of a Brazilian native, an enemy about to be eaten, in terms of absolute Stoic virtue. While he uses the classical Stoic sources, Montaigne implies that the attitude toward death among the Brazilian cannibals is more philosophically Stoic than that of the Europeans. This essay is supposed to be the original source of the “noble savage” idea later associated with Rousseau. In the essay “A Custom of the Isle of Cea” (1573–74), Montaigne explores positive justifications for suicide, especially for “unendurable pain” and “fear of a worse death.” Here he juxtaposes, as he often did, many conflicting views on an issue. He mentions Pliny’s [q.v., under Pliny the Elder] belief that only three sorts of diseases license suicide, the most painful of which is bladder stone; Montaigne himself suffered considerably from stone and repeatedly sought a cure. It is noteworthy that Montaigne uses almost exclusively classical material, ignoring the enormous body of Christian theological commentary of the time. He is the first significant modern figure, together with his friend and disciple Pierre Charron (1541–1603), a sceptical Catholic priest, to question the Christian position on suicide, opening the door to a shift in thinking that would occur in the following century even as writers like John Sym [q.v.] were emphasizing the heinousness of suicide. As one contemporary scholar puts it, in arguing for a naturalistic and merely personal basis for suicide, Montaigne and Charron “opened a Pandora’s box.”

Sources Essays of Michel de Montaigne, ed. William Carew Hazlitt, tr. Charles Cotton (1686), Kensington, 1877, “Of Cannibals,” Book the First, Chapter XXX; “A Custom of the Isle of Cea,” Book the Second, Chapter Three (Latin quotations removed). Both available online at www.gutenberg.org from the Gutenberg Project, text #3600. Quotation and paraphrase in introductory material from Gary B. Ferngren, “The Ethics of Suicide in the Renaissance and Reformation,” in Baruch A.Brody, ed., Suicide and Euthanasia: Historical and Contemporary Themes, Dordrecht, NL: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1989, pp. 161–162.

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from ACUSTOM OF THE ISLE OF CEA . . . [T]‌here are several accidents in life far worse to suffer than death itself. Witness the Lacedaemonian boy taken by Antigonus, and sold for a slave, who being by his master commanded to some base employment:“Thou shalt see,” says the boy, “whom thou hast bought; it would be a shame for me to serve, being so near the reach of liberty,” and having so said, threw himself from the top of the house.... This is the meaning of the sentence, “That the wise man lives as long as he ought, not so long as he can; and that the most obliging present Nature has made us, and which takes from us all colour of complaint of our condition, is to have delivered into our own custody the keys of life; she has only ordered, one door into life, but a hundred thousand ways out....” Why dost thou complain of this world? it detains thee not; thy own cowardice is the cause, if thou livest in pain. There needs no more to die but to will todie: Death is everywhere:heaven has well provided for that. Any one may deprive us of life; no one can deprive us of death. To death there are a thousand avenues. [Seneca, Theb.]

Neither is it a recipe for one disease only; death is the infallible cure of all; ’tis a most assured port that is never to be feared, and very often to be sought. It comes all to one, whether a man give himself his end, or stays to receive it by some other means; whether he pays before his day, or stay till his day of payment come; from whencesoever it comes, it is still his.... The most voluntary death is the finest. Life depends upon the pleasure of others; death upon our own. We ought not to accommodate ourselves to our own humour in anything so much as in this. Reputation is not concerned in such an enterprise; ’tis folly to be concerned by any such apprehension. Living is slavery if the liberty of dying be wanting. The ordinary method of cure is carried on at the expense of life; they torment us with caustics, incisions, and amputations of limbs; they interdict aliment and exhaust our blood; one step farther and we are cured indeed and effectually.... The Stoics say, that it is living according to nature in a wise man to, take his leave of life, even in the height of prosperity, if he do it opportunely; and in a fool to prolong it, though he be miserable, provided he be not indigent of those things which they repute to be according to nature. As Ido not offend the law against thieves when Iembezzle my own money and cut my own purse; nor that against incendiaries when Iburn my own wood; so am Inot under the lash of those made against murderers for having deprived myself of my own life. Hegesias said, that as the condition of life did, so the condition of death ought to depend upon our own choice. And Diogenes meeting the philosopher Speusippus, so blown up with an inveterate dropsy that he was fain to be carried in a litter, and by him saluted with the compliment, “I wish you good health.” “No health to thee,” replied the other, “who art content to live in such a condition.” And in fact, not long after, Speusippus, weary of so languishing a state of life, found a means to die. But this does not pass without admitting a dispute: for many are of opinion that we cannot quit this garrison of the world without the express command of Him who has placed us in it; and that it appertains to God who has placed us here, not for ourselves only but for His glory and the service of others, to dismiss us when it shall best please Him, and not for us to depart

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without His licence: that we are not born for ourselves only, but for our country also, the laws of which require an account from us upon the score of their own interest, and have an action of manslaughter good against us; and if these fail to take cognisance of the fact, we are punished in the other world as deserters of our duty: Thence the sad ones occupy the next abodes, who, though free from guilt, were by their own hands slain, and, hating light, sought death. [Virgil, Aeneid]

*** Among those of the first of these two opinions, there has been great debate, what occasions are sufficient to justify the meditation of self-murder, which they call “A reasonable exit” [Diogenes Laertius, Life of Zeno]. For though they say that men must often die for trivial causes, seeing those that detain us in life are of no very great weight, yet there is to be some limit. There are fantastic and senseless humours that have prompted not only individual men, but whole nations to destroy themselves, of which I have elsewhere given some examples; and we further read of the Milesian virgins, that by a frantic compact they hanged themselves one after another till the magistrate took order in it, enacting that the bodies of such as should be found so hanged should be drawn by the same halter stark naked through the city. When Therykion tried to persuade Cleomenes to despatch himself, by reason of the ill posture of his affairs, and, having missed a death of more honour in the battle he had lost, to accept of this the second in honour to it, and not to give the conquerors leisure to make him undergo either an ignominious death or an infamous life; Cleomenes, with a courage truly Stoic and Lacedaemonian, rejected his counsel as unmanly and mean; “that,” said he, “is a remedy that can never be wanting, but which a man is never to make use of, whilst there is an inch of hope remaining”: telling him, “that it was sometimes constancy and valour to live; that he would that even his death should be of use to his country, and would make of it an act of honour and virtue.” Therykion, notwithstanding, thought himself in the right, and did his own business; and Cleomenes afterwards did the same, but not till he had first tried the utmost malevolence of fortune. All the inconveniences in the world are not considerable enough that a man should die to evade them; and, besides, there being so many, so sudden and unexpected changes in human things, it is hard rightly to judge when we are at the end of our hope. . . . All things, says an old adage, are to be hoped for by a man while he lives; ay, but, replies Seneca, why should this rather be always running in a man’s head that fortune can do all things for the living man, than this, that fortune has no power over him that knows how to die? Josephus, when engaged in so near and apparent danger, a whole people being violently bent against him, that there was no visible means of escape, nevertheless, being, as he himself says, in this extremity counselled by one of his friends to despatch himself, it was well for him that he yet maintained himself in hope, for fortune diverted the accident beyond all human expectation, so that he saw himself delivered without any manner of inconvenience. . . . Length of days, and the various labour of changeful time, have brought things to a better state; fortune turning, shews a reverse face, and again restores men to prosperity. [Aeneid, xi, 425]

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. . . And some there have been who, to avoid a worse death, have chosen one to their own liking. Democritus, general of the Aetolians, being brought prisoner to Rome, found means to make his escape by night: but close pursued by his keepers, rather than suffer himself to be retaken, he fell upon his own sword and died. Antinous and Theodotus, their city of Epirus being reduced by the Romans to the last extremity, gave the people counsel universally to kill themselves; but, these preferring to give themselves up to the enemy, the two chiefs went to seek the death they desired, rushing furiously upon the enemy, with intention to strike home but not to ward a blow. The Island of Gozzo being taken some years ago by the Turks, a Sicilian, who had two beautiful daughters marriageable, killed them both with his own hand, and their mother, running in to save them, to boot, which having done, sallying out of the house with a cross-bow and harquebus, with two shots he killed two of the Turks nearest to his door, and drawing his sword, charged furiously in amongst the rest, where he was suddenly enclosed and cut to pieces, by that means delivering his family and himself from slavery and dishonour. The Jewish women, after having circumcised their children, threw them and themselves down a precipice to avoid the cruelty of Antigonus. . . . Scribonia advising her nephew Libo to kill himself rather than await the stroke of justice, told him that it was to do other people’s business to preserve his life to put it after into the hands of those who within three or four days would fetch him to execution, and that it was to serve his enemies to keep his blood to gratify their malice. . . . Of violences offered to the conscience, that against the chastity of woman is, in my opinion, most to be avoided, forasmuch as there is a certain pleasure naturally mixed with it, and for that reason the dissent therein cannot be sufficiently perfect and entire, so that the violence seems to be mixed with a little consent of the forced party. The ecclesiastical history has several examples of devout persons who have embraced death to secure them from the outrages prepared by tyrants against their religion and honour. Pelagia and Sophronia, both canonised, the first of these precipitated herself with her mother and sisters into the river to avoid being forced by some soldiers, and the last also killed herself to avoid being ravished by the Emperor Maxentius.... History is everywhere full of those who by a thousand ways have exchanged a painful and irksome life for death. Lucius Aruntius killed himself, to fly, he said, both the future and the past. Granius Silvanus and Statius Proximus, after having been pardoned by Nero, killed themselves; either disdaining to live by the favour of so wicked a man, or that they might not be troubled, at some other time, to obtain a second pardon, considering the proclivity of his nature to suspect and credit accusations against worthy men. . . . Boges, governor in Eion for King Xerxes, being besieged by the Athenian army under the conduct of Cimon, refused the conditions offered, that he might safe return into Asia with all his wealth, impatient to survive the loss of a place his master had given him to keep; wherefore, having defended the city to the last extremity, nothing being left to eat, he first threw all the gold and whatever else the enemy could make booty of into the river Strymon, and then causing a great pile to be set on fire, and the throats of all the women, children, concubines, and servants to be cut, he threw their bodies into the fire, and at last leaped into it himself. Ninachetuen, an Indian lord, so soon as he heard the first whisper of the Portuguese Viceroy’s determination to dispossess him... caused a scaffold, more long than broad, to be erected, supported by columns royally adorned with tapestry and strewed with flowers and abundance of perfumes; all which being prepared, in a robe of cloth of gold, set full of jewels of great value, he came out into the street, and mounted the steps to the scaffold, at one corner of

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which he had a pile lighted of aromatic wood. Everybody ran to see to what end these unusual preparations were made; when Ninachetuen, with a manly but displeased countenance, set forth how much he had obliged the Portuguese nation, and with how unspotted fidelity he had carried himself in his charge; that having so often, sword in hand, manifested in the behalf of others, that honour was much more dear to him than life, he was not to abandon the concern of it for himself:that fortune denying him all means of opposing the affront designed to be put upon him, his courage at least enjoined him to free himself from the sense of it, and not to serve for a fable to the people, nor for a triumph to men less deserving than himself; which having said he leaped into the fire. Sextilia, wife of Scaurus, and Paxaea, wife of Labeo, to encourage their husbands to avoid the dangers that pressed upon them, wherein they had no other share than conjugal affection, voluntarily sacrificed their own lives to serve them in this extreme necessity for company and example. . . . Nothing can be added to the beauty of the death of the wife of Fulvius, a familiar favourite of Augustus: Augustus having discovered that he had vented an important secret he had entrusted him withal, one morning that he came to make his court, received him very coldly and looked frowningly upon him. He returned home, full of, despair, where he sorrowfully told his wife that, having fallen into this misfortune, he was resolved to kill himself: to which she roundly replied, “’Tis but reason you should, seeing that having so often experienced the incontinence of my tongue, you could not take warning: but let me kill myself first,” and without any more saying ran herself through the body with a sword. . . . Alexander, laying siege to a city of the Indies, those within, finding themselves very hardly set, put on a vigorous resolution to deprive him of the pleasure of his victory, and accordingly burned themselves in general, together with their city, in despite of his humanity: a new kind of war, where the enemies sought to save them, and they to destroy themselves, doing, to make themselves sure of death, all that men do to secure life. Astapa, a city of Spain, finding itself weak in walls and defence to withstand the Romans, the inhabitants made a heap of all their riches and furniture in the public place; and, having ranged upon this heap all the women and children, and piled them round with wood and other combustible matter to take sudden fire, and left fifty of their young men for the execution of that whereon they had resolved, they made a desperate sally, where for want of power to overcome, they caused themselves to be every man slain.... But men sometimes covet death out of hope of a greater good. “I desire,” says St. Paul, “to be with Christ,” and “who shall rid me of these bands?”... Jacques du Chastel, bishop of Soissons, in St. Louis’s foreign expedition, seeing the king and whole army upon the point of returning into France, leaving the affairs of religion imperfect, took a resolution rather to go into Paradise; wherefore, having taken solemn leave of his friends, he charged alone, in the sight of every one, into the enemy’s army, where he was presently cut to pieces.... Sextus Pompeius, in his expedition into Asia, touched at the isle of Cea in Negropont:it happened whilst he was there, as we have it from one that was with him, that a woman of great quality, having given an account to her citizens why she was resolved to put an end to her life, invited Pompeius to her death, to render it the more honourable, an invitation that he accepted; and having long tried in vain by the power of his eloquence, which was very great, and persuasion, to divert her from that design, he acquiesced in the end in her own will. She had passed the age of four score and ten in a very happy state, both of body and mind; being then laid upon her bed, better dressed than ordinary and leaning upon her elbow.... “For my part, having always

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experienced the smiles of fortune, for fear lest the desire of living too long may make me see a contrary face, Iam going, by a happy end, to dismiss the remains of my soul, leaving behind two daughters of my body and a legion of nephews”; which having said, with some exhortations to her family to live in peace, she divided amongst them her goods, and recommending her domestic gods to her eldest daughter, she boldly took the bowl that contained the poison, and having made her vows and prayers to Mercury to conduct her to some happy abode in the other world, she roundly swallowed the mortal poison.... Pliny tells us of a certain Hyperborean nation where, by reason of the sweet temperature of the air, lives rarely ended but by the voluntary surrender of the inhabitants, who, being weary of and satiated with living, had the custom, at a very old age, after having made good cheer, to precipitate themselves into the sea from the top of a certain rock, assigned for that service. Pain and the fear of a worse death seem to me the most excusable incitements.

ABU ’L FAZL IBN MUBARAK (1551–1602) From Biography of the Emperor Akbar:On Jauhar

and Saka

Abu’l Fazl was born in Agra, the second son to the Indian scholar and teacher Shaikh Mubarak, who educated Abu’l Fazl from an early age in the Islamic sciences, Greek philosophy, and mysticism. At age 23, Abu’l Fazl was introduced to the court of emperor Akbar by his older brother Abu’l Faizi, the future poet laureate. Aliberal thinker like his father, Abu’l Fazl quickly gained favor with the emperor and supported him in extending the religious tolerance of his empire. In 1579, together with his father, Abu’l Fazl helped to compose the decree known as the “Infallibility Decree,” which endowed the emperor Akbar with religious superiority over the orthodox authority of the ulama. In 1599, Abu’l Fazl was given his first office, at Deccan, where he was recognized for his ability as a military commander. Three years later in 1602, he was assassinated under secret orders from emperor Akbar’s eldest son, the future emperor Jahangir, whose ascendancy and 1600 rebellion against his father Abu’l Fazl had opposed. Abu’l Fazl is best known today for his Akbarnama, a three-volume history of the life and empire of its commissioner, the emperor Akbar. It was composed in Persian between 1590 and 1596 while more than 49 different artists worked on the illustrations. The first volume details the history of Akbar’s family back to Timur, and the second volume describes Akbar’s own reign as far as 1602. The third volume of the Akbarnama, the Ain-i-Akbari, or the “Institutes of Akbar,” is the most famous. As well as containing a detailed report of Akbar’s system of government and administration, the fourth book of this volume gives a more general history of India in addition to an account of Hindu philosophy, literature, religion, and custom.

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In the second volume of the Akbarnama, Abu’l Fazl describes the third siege and consequent third Jauhar [ Johar] at the fort of Chittor [Chaitúr] in 1567. Jauhar and Saka, often referred to together simply as Jauhar, are the names for the two parts of a mass suicide ritual carried out by the Rájpút clans in the face of immediate and inescapable military defeat. Jauhar specifically refers to the self-immolation of the women and children in anticipation of capture and abuse. Saka is the subsequent or simultaneous march of the men to certain death at the hands of their enemies. Not an immediate witness of the Jauhar, Abu’l Fazl reports that several fires became visible in Chittor less than an hour after the governor of the fort was killed. He describes the women as unwilling participants in the Jauhar, victims of the Rájpút men, who, the next day, came out of the house of Ráná, the temple of Mahádeo, and the gate of Rámpúrah in “twos and threes” to “[throw] away” their own lives.

Source Abu’l Fazl Ibn Mubarak, “An Account of the Siege and Reduction of Chaitur by the Emperor Akbar,” from the Akbar-namah of Shaikh Abul-Fazl, tr. Major David Price. Miscellaneous Translations from Oriental Languages, vol. II (London:Samuel Bentley, 1834, pp. 14–15, 31–34, 38, 40).

from BIOGRAPHY OF THE EMPEROR

AKBAR:ON JAUHAR AND SAKA

In the meantime, entertaining a notion that the imperial army was but inadequately provided with the means of carrying on the arduous operations of a siege, the infatuated Ráná devoted his attention to strengthen the fortifications of Chaitúr, and to furnish it with stores and provisions for many years to come. And yet, to the limited scope of human vision, the ramparts of this celebrated place seemed already beyond the reach of anything like a successful attack. He lodged in it, moreover, a garrison of five thousand Rájpúts of acknowledged bravery, and already renowned for their devotion to the paths of glory. After which, having laid waste the surrounding districts in every direction, so that there was not left a blade of grass remaining, he finally withdrew himself beyond the inaccessible passes of his mountain lands. On due consideration, Akbar was early convinced that the success of the enterprise in which he was engaged would be but little advanced by pursuing the man whose doom was already sealed, in the heart of his mountains; and it was surely by the inspiration of his superior fortune, that he now determined to devote the whole of his energies to the sole object of making himself master of this fortress of Chaitúr, universally considered as the very foundation and resting-place of the Ráná’s power and renown. On Thursday, the 19th of the latter Rabía, accordingly, he appeared in the neighbourhood of the place, and encamped. *** A.H. 975. a.d. 1568, 23d February.—The circumstances of this auspicious and splendid event may be distinctly collected from the following statement. On the night previous to the day of its capture, the place was attacked at once on every side, and the rampart having been breached in

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several parts, all things indicated that the conquest of Chaitúr was now at hand. Near the head of the principal sap, the imperial troops pushing forward on anticipation, succeeded in effecting a considerable breach in the strongest part of the wall, where they proceeded to exhibit the noblest proofs of devoted courage. Some time after midnight, however, the besieged brought a competent force to bear upon this breach; and on the one hand, giving themselves up to the winds of destiny, proceeded on the other to load this breach with bales of cloth and cotton, and faggots smeared with oil, for the purpose of setting on fire the moment the besiegers advanced to the assault, so that it would be impossible to effect a passage through. At a period so critical, a person came in view of the emperor, clad in that species of armour denominated Hazár míkhí, or mail of a thousand studs, and exhibiting proofs of the highest authority, stood upon the breach, where he appeared to exert himself with signal bravery and activity. The identity of this personage who thus conspicuously distinguished himself could not however be made out by any one. Immediately seizing a favourite fusil, on which he had bestowed the name of Singrám, Akbar instantly discharged it at this person, expressing at the same time to Shujáat Khán and Rájáh Bahgwántdás, that feeling on this occasion the same exhilarating sensation as he experienced when killing game, he entertained but little doubt that his shot had taken effect on the man; on which Khán Jahán, another of the chiefs in attendance, took occasion to mention, that during the night the same personage had repeatedly appeared in the breach, exerting himself with singular diligence and activity, and that if he appeared no more, it was sufficiently evident that he must have fallen. Not an hour afterwards, Jubbár Kulí Dívánah came and reported that not a man of the enemy was to be seen at the breach, and almost at the same instant the interior of the fort appeared on fire in several places. The attendants on the emperor were indulging in a variety of conjectures as to the meaning of this conflagration, when Rájah Bahgwántdás set the matter at rest by explaining that this was the Johar fire; adding, that in Hindustán, on the occurrence of a catastrophe such as was likely to happen on this memorable night, it was the custom to prepare a pile of sandalwood and odiferous drugs, together with dry fuel and other combustibles smothered with oil, and placing those in whom they could confide in charge of their women, with instructions to set fire to the pile and consume these unoffending and hapless females to ashes, the instant it was ascertained that the conflict had terminated fatally, and that the men were slain. In fact, on the morning which dawned in victory to the imperial arms, it was ascertained that the shot discharged by the royal Akbar had actually taken effect on the person of Jaimal Pátá, the governor of the fort, and at once decided the fate of Chaitúr and his own. The Johar conflagration was found to ascend from the mansions of Pátá of the Seisúdíah tribe, and one of the Ráná’s most confidential ministers, of the Rahtúrs, of whom a certain Sáhib was the chief, and of Aisúrdas the leader of the Cháhúns, in which there were consumed to the number altogether of three hundred helpless females. During the remainder of the night, although the breach had been entirely abandoned by the garrison, which had fled in dismay on the death of Jaimul, and withdrawn to various recesses of the places, the imperial troops, nevertheless, cautiously abstained from attack, with that prudent forbearance always necessary to avert unseen and sudden danger. They were at the same time held in perfect readiness to enter the place at the first dawn of daylight. Accordingly, at break of day, the troops issued at once from their trenches, and rushing into the fort at all points, proceeded immediately to the work of bondage and slaughter; while the unfortunate Rájpúts, having lost all order, were put to the sword, fighting and resisting to the very last man. ***

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The number of Rájpúts inured to war collected on this occasion for the defence of Chaitúr, is stated at nearly eight thousand; but the inhabitants, who bore a part also in the defence of the place, amounted to more than forty thousand men. When the banners of the empire were displayed upon the works, the besieged retired partly into the pagodas; and trusting to the sanctity of those places, and the protection of their idols, awaited with fortitude the moment to lay down their lives. Others obstinately awaited their fate in their own houses; while others, with sword in hand and shortened lance, bravely faced their assailants, from whom they found the death they sought. Those who had madly taken post in the temples and dwelling-houses, when they beheld the imperial troops advancing upon them, fiercely sallied out, but were destroyed before they could come within sword-length, by the fire of their adversaries. Thus, between early dawn and the hour of noon was the period in which these unfortunates were doomed to perish—to be consumed both body and soul by the wrath of Omnipotence; the slain on this occasion being stated at nearly thirty thousand men. *** On this memorable day, although there was not in the place a house or street or passage of any kind that did not exhibit heaps of slaughtered bodies, there were three points in particular at which the number of the slain was surprisingly great; one of these was the palace of the Ráná, into which the Rájpúts had thrown themselves in considerable numbers; from whence they successively sallied upon the imperialists in small parties, of two and three together, until the whole had nobly perished sword in hand. The other was the temple of Mahádeo, their principal place of worship, where another considerable body of the besieged gave themselves up to the sword. Thirdly, was the gate of Rámpúrah, where these devoted men gave their bodies to the winds in appalling numbers. This important conquest, which may well be considered the crowning triumph of imperial fortune, had the immediate effect of dispelling those fumes of ambition and self-importance which had distempered the brains of the haughtiest powers in Hindústán, and disposed them to assume in exchange the bonds of sincere allegiance.

JOHN DONNE (1572–1631) from Biathanatos (expanded in Archive)

John Donne, the English metaphysical poet and, after 1621, Dean of St. Paul’s, was a writer of sonnets, songs, elegies, satires, and sermons. It is for his poetic works, many with religious themes, that he is principally known today. Raised as a Roman Catholic in times of pervasive anti-Catholic sentiment, Donne was educated at home before attending Oxford and Cambridge; however, he did not take degrees there, probably because of the requirement of the Oath of Supremacy. In 1592, he pursued an education in law, but in 1596, joined a military expedition to Cádiz and later a treasure-hunting expedition in the Azores.

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The Ethics of Suicide

It is not known precisely when he abandoned Catholicism, but by 1597, he had conformed sufficiently with the Church of England to hold a government position, becoming secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton, the Lord Keeper and a member of Queen Elizabeth’s Privy Council. Donne served in Parliament and made friends and acquaintances in influential circles, but his excellent prospects collapsed early in 1602 when Donne—then 30years old—revealed that he had secretly married Anne More, the 17-year-old niece and protegée of Egerton’s wife. Donne was briefly imprisoned, though the legal validity of the marriage was upheld, and he endured a long period of unemployment following his release. Donne wrote Biathanatos, an extended essay on suicide, in 1608. Aletter to his friend Henry Goodyer in the same year is often cited as evidence of his troubled mood during this period: Every Tuesday Imake account that Iturn a great hourglass, and consider what a week’s life is run out since Iwrit. But if Iask myself what Ihave done in the last watch, or would do in the next, Ican say nothing. If Isay that Ihave passed it without hurting any, so may the spider in my window.... I have often suspected myself to be overtaken... with a desire of the next life, which, though Iknow it is not merely out of a weariness of this... [I suspect] worldly encumbrances have increased....

One school of interpretation sees Biathanatos as an epiphenomenon of Donne’s morbid condition, though Donne’s argument in the work would not excuse a suicide from personal distress. Other commentators see in it an attempt by Donne to overcome temptation. But it is also a public work, though not actually published during Donne’s lifetime, one that shares with his Pseudo-Martyr (written no more than a year later) partisan and controversial aims addressed to a broad audience. Biathanatos is a long and extremely difficult work with a challenging and, Donne says, “paradoxical” thesis. It undertakes an exhaustive analysis of both secular and religious argumentation against suicide, and argues that suicide is “not so naturally sin, that it may never be otherwise.” Most cases of suicide, including those committed from despair, self-protection, self-aggrandizement, fear of suffering, impatience to reach the afterlife, or other self-interested motives are indeed sinful. But, Donne argues, suicide is justified when, like submission to martyrdom, it is done with charity, done for the glory of God. Indeed, in Donne’s highly unconventional view, Christ himself, in not merely allowing himself to be crucified but in voluntarily emitting his last breath on the cross, was in fact a suicide. This is the model by which men ought to be willing to lay down their lives for their brethren. However, Donne argues elsewhere in Biathanatos, because suicide is so likely to be committed for self-interested reasons rather than wholly for the glory of God, it is appropriate for both civil and canon law to prohibit it. Donne recognized that his unconventional thesis was “misinterpretable,” and it is probably for this reason that he did not allow Biathanatos to be published. He directed his friend Robert Ker, to whom he gave a copy, to “keep it... with... jealousy.... Publish it not, but yet burn it not.” While Donne’s Biathanatos was the first full-length book devoted to the topic of suicide written in the Western tradition, John Sym’s Lifes Preservative Against Self-Killing (1637) [q.v.] was the first to be published; Donne’s work was not published until a decade later, in 1647, after his death and against his wishes, by his son.

Source John Donne, Biathanatos, AModern-Spelling Edition, Part III, Distinction iv, sections 1–11, lines 4692– 4992, eds. Michael Rudick and M. Pabst Battin. NewYork and London:Garland Publishing, Inc., 1982,

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pp. 166–176; available online at http://web.archive.org/web/20111117203143/http://www.philosophy. utah.edu/onlinepublications/PDFs/Biathanatos_CompleteText.pdf. Quotation in introduction, pp. xi-xii.

from BIATHANATOS . . . We shall nowhere find a better portrait of charity than that which St. Augustine hath drawn:“She loves not that which should not be loved, she neglects not that which should be loved, she bestows not more love upon that which deserves less, nor doth she equally love more and less worthiness, nor upon equal worthiness bestow more and less love.” To this charity, the same blessed and happy father proportions this growth:Inchoated, increased, grown great, and perfected, and this last is, saith he, when in respect of it we contemn this life. And yet he acknowledgeth a higher charity than this; for, Peter Lombard allowing charity this growth, beginning, proficient, perfect, more and most perfect, he cites St. Augustine, who calls that perfect charity to be ready to die for one another. But when he comes to that than which none can be greater, he says then, the Apostle came to cupio dissolvi. For as one may love God with all his heart, and yet he may grow in that love, and love God more with all his heart, for the first was commanded in the Law, and yet counsel of perfection was given to him who said that he had fulfilled the first commandment, so, as St. Augustine found a degree above that charity which made a man paratum ponere, which is cupere, so there is a degree above that, which is to do it. This is that virtue by which martyrdom, which is not such of itself, becomes an act of highest perfection. And this is that virtue which assureth any suffering which proceeds from it to be infallibly accompanied with the grace of God. Upon assuredness, therefore, and testimony of a rectified conscience that we have a charitable purpose, let us consider how far we may adventure upon authority of Scripture in this matter which we have in hand. First, therefore, by the frame and working of St. Paul’s argument to the Corinthians, “though I give my body that I be burned, and have not love, it profiteth nothing,” these two things appear evidently; first, that in a general notion and common reputation, it was esteemed a high degree of perfection to die so, and therefore not against the law of nature; and secondly, by this exception, without charity, it appears that with charity it might well and profitably be done. That which Iobserved... to arise from this argument was that, with charity, such a death might be acceptable. . . . Of which, as there may be such necessity, for confirming of weaker Christians, that a man may be bound to do it, as in this case is very probable, so there may be cases, in men very exemplary, and in the cunning and subtle carriage of the persecutor, as one can no other way give his body for testimony of God’s truth, to which he may then be bound, but by doing it himself. As, therefore, naturally and customarily, men thought it good to die so, and that such a death, with charity, was acceptable, so is it generally said by Christ that “the good shepherd doth give his life for his sheep,” which is a justifying and approbation of our inclination thereunto, for to say “the good do it” is to say “they which do it are good.” And as we are all sheep of one fold, so in many cases we are all shepherds of one another, and owe one another this duty of giving

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our temporal lives for another’s spiritual advantage, yea, for his temporal. For that Imay abstain from purging myself when another’s crime is imputed to me is grounded upon such another text as this, where it is said the greatest love is to bestow his life for his friends; in which, and all of this kind, we must remember that we are commanded to do it so as Christ did it, and how Christ gave His body we shall have another place to consider. Hereupon, because St. Peter’s zeal was so forward, and carried him so high that he would die for the Shepherd, for so he says, “I will lay down my life for Thy sake,” and this, as all expositors say, was merely and purely out of natural affection, without examination of his own strength to perform it, but presently and roundly, nature carried him to that promise. And, upon a more deliberate and orderly resolution, St. Paul witnesseth of himself such a willingness to die for his brethren:“I will be gladly bestowed for your souls.” A Christian nature rests not in knowing thus much, that we may do it, that charity makes it good, that the good do it, and that we must always promise, that is, incline, to do it and do something towards it, but will have the perfect fullness of doing it in the resolution and doctrine and example of our blessed Savior, who says de facto, “I lay down my life for my sheep....” To express the abundant and overflowing charity of our Savior all words are defective, for if we could express all which He did, that came not near to that which He would do if need were. It is observed by one... that Christ, going to Emmaus, spake of His passion so slightly, as though He had in three days forgot all that He had suffered for us, and that Christ, in an apparition to St. Charles, says that He would be content to die again, if need were; yea, to St. Bridget He said that for any one soul He would suffer as much in every limb as He had suffered for all the world in His whole body. And this is noted for an extreme high degree of charity, out of Anselm, that His blessed Mother said, rather than He should not have been crucified, she would have done it with her own hands, and certainly His charity was not inferior to hers:He did as much as any could be willing to do. And therefore, as Himself said, “No man can take away my soul,” and “I have power to lay it down.” So without doubt, no man did take it away, nor was there any other than His own will the cause of His dying at that time.... This actual emission of His soul, which is death, and which was His own act, and before His natural time (which His best beloved apostle could imitate, who also died when he would and went into his grave, and there gave up the ghost and buried himself, which is reported but of very few others, and by no very credible authors), we find thus celebrated:that that is a brave death which is accepted unconstrained, and that it is an heroic act of fortitude if a man, when an urgent occasion is presented, expose himself to a certain and assured death, as He did; and it is there said that Christ did so as Saul did, who thought it foul and dishonorable to die by the hand of an enemy; and that Apollonia, and others who prevented the fury of executioners and cast themselves into the fire, did therein imitate this act of our Savior, of giving up His soul before he was constrained to do it. So that, if the act of our blessed Savior, in whom there was no more required for death but that He should will that His soul should go out, were the same as Saul’s and these martyrs’ actual furtherance, which could not die without that, then we are taught that all those places of giving up our bodies to death, and of laying down the soul, signify more than a yielding to death when it comes. And to my understanding there is a further degree of alacrity and propenseness to such a death, expressed in that phrase of John, “he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto

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life eternal,” and in that of Luke, “except he hate his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Such a loathness to live is that which is spoken of in the Hebrews:“some were racked and would not be delivered, that they might receive a better resurrection.” This place Calvin interprets of a readiness to die, and expresses it elegantly:to carry our life in our hands, offering it to God for a sacrifice. And this the Jesuits in their rule extend thus far, let everyone think that this was said directly to him:Hate thy life. And they who in the other place accept this phrase “No man hateth his own flesh” to yield an argument against self-homicide in any case, must also allow that the same hate being commanded here authorizes that act in some case. And St. Augustine, apprehending the strength of this place, denies that by the authority of it the Donatists can justify their self-homicide when they list to die; but yet in those cases which are exempt from his rules, this place may encourage a man not to neglect the honor of God only upon this reason, that nobody else will take his life. And therefore, the Holy Ghost proceeds more directly in the first Epistle of St. John, and shows us a necessary duty:Because He laid down His life for us, therefore we ought to lay down our lives for our brethren. All these places work us to a true understanding of charity, and to a contempt of this life in respect of it. And, as these inform us how ready we must be, so all those places which direct us by the example of Christ to do it as He did, show that in cases when our lives must be given, we need not ever attend extrinsic force of others. But, as He did in perfect charity, so we, in such degrees of it as this life and our nature are capable of, must die by our own will, rather than His glory be neglected, whensoever, as Paul saith, Christ may be magnified in our bodies, or the spiritual good of such another as we are bound to advance doth importune it. . . . As Paulinus says to Amandus, thou mayst be bold in thy prayers to God for me to say, “Forgive him or blot out me,” for thou canst not be blotted out; iusum delere non potest iustitia. And thus, retaining ever in our minds that our example is Christ, and that He died not constrained, it shall suffice to have learned by these places that, in charity, men may die so, and have done, and ought to do.

ROBERT BURTON (1577–1640) from Anatomy of Melancholy (expanded in Archive)

Born in Lindley, Leicestershire, Robert Burton was an English clergyman and author. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he received bachelor of arts, master of arts, and bachelor of divinity degrees. Working as a tutor and librarian, he was elected a fellow in 1599. From 1616 until his death, he served as vicar nearby at St. Thomas’s Church, living a self-described “silent, sedentary, solitary” lifestyle. His first published work was the Latin comedy Philosophaster (1605). Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy was originally published in 1621 under the pseudonym Democritus Junior. Burton apparently saw himself as completing the project of Democritus to discover

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the biological seat of melancholy, including what would now be called depression and related mental illnesses. It is reported that Burton also tried to recreate Democritus’s practice of walking down to the haven at Abdera and laughing heartily at the ridiculous objects that presented themselves to his view, by repairing to the bridge-foot at Oxford and listening to the bargemen swearing at one another, “at which he would set his hands to his sides and laugh most profusely.” Anatomy of Melancholy is a treatise on the symptoms, causes, and cures of the melancholic or depressive personality. The result of most of his life’s work, Anatomy is encyclopedic in its references to nearly every aspect of 17th-century culture and thought, causing Lord Byron to remark that studying it was the surest way of obtaining “a reputation of being well read.” Focusing particularly on previous theories of cognition but sprinkling the book with classical allusions in a style influenced by Montaigne and the satire of Erasmus, Burton treated the subject of depression in a manner ahead of his time and with a modification of the then-conventional mind/body dualism. The Anatomy was widely read and influenced several later writers, notably John Milton, Samuel Johnson, Laurence Sterne, and Charles Lamb. In the section “Prognostics of Melancholy,” Burton treats suicide as the outcome of melancholy, though he also reviews classical and medieval arguments concerning the ethics of suicide. He thus appears to adopt potentially conflicting views:on the one hand, that suicide is the causal consequence of mental illness (and so not under voluntary control), and, on the other, that suicide is a matter of moral choice (which one can make badly). Similar ambivalence about suicide in mental illness persists into contemporary times. In any case, Burton argues that one ought not to be rash in censuring those who commit suicide. Only God alone can tell the reasons for their act and what shall become of their souls, he insists, since they may have repented and been forgiven at the very moment of death, as he famously puts it, “betwixt the bridge and the brook, the knife and the throat.”

Sources Robert Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, Part1, Section 4, Member 1, available from Project Gutenberg at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10800/10800-h/10800-h.htm. Originally published in 1638. This edition, by Karl Hagen, is based on a 19th-century edition that modernized Burton’s spelling and typographic conventions, and has been further corrected. Latin deleted in print text. Quotation in biographical sketch from A. H.Bullen, introduction to Robert Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, ed. Rev. A.R. Shilleto, vol. 1, London:George Bell and Sons, 1893, p.xii.

from ANATOMY OF MELANCHOLY PROGNOSTICS OF MELANCHOLY Seldom this malady [melancholy] procures death, except (which is the greatest, most grievous calamity, and the misery of all miseries,) they make away themselves, which is a frequent thing, and familiar amongst them.... The doom of all physicians....

And so far forth death’s terror doth affright, He makes away himself, and hates the light

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To make an end of fear and grief of heart, He voluntary dies to ease his smart. In such sort doth the torture and extremity of his misery torment him, that he can take no pleasure in his life, but is in a manner enforced to offer violence unto himself, to be freed from his present insufferable pains. So some (saith Fracastorius) “in fury, but most in despair, sorrow, fear, and out of the anguish and vexation of their souls, offer violence to themselves:for their life is unhappy and miserable. They can take no rest in the night, nor sleep, or if they do slumber, fearful dreams astonish them.” In the daytime they are affrighted still by some terrible object, and torn in pieces with suspicion, fear, sorrow, discontents, cares, shame, anguish, &c. as so many wild horses, that they cannot be quiet an hour, a minute of time, but even against their wills they are intent, and still thinking of it, they cannot forget it, it grinds their souls day and night, they are perpetually tormented, a burden to themselves, as Job was, they can neither eat, drink or sleep. Psal. cvii. 18. “Their soul abhorreth all meat, and they are brought to death's door, being bound in misery and iron:” they curse their stars with Job, “and day of their birth, and wish for death:” for as Pineda and most interpreters hold, Job was even melancholy to despair, and almost madness itself; they murmur many times against the world, friends, allies, all mankind, even against God himself in the bitterness of their passion,... live they will not, die they cannot. And in the midst of these squalid, ugly, and such irksome days, they seek at last, finding no comfort, no remedy in this wretched life, to be eased of all by death..... [A]‌ll creatures seek the best, and for their good as they hope... in show at least... to be freed as they wish. Though many times, as Aesop’s fishes, they leap from the frying-pan into the fire itself, yet they hope to be eased by this means:and therefore (saith Felix Platerus) “after many tedious days at last, either by drowning, hanging, or some such fearful end,” they precipitate or make away themselves:“many lamentable examples are daily seen amongst us:”... (as Seneca notes),... “one hangs himself before his own door,—another throws himself from the house-top, to avoid his master’s anger,—a third, to escape expulsion, plunges a dagger into his heart,”—so many causes there are—His... furor his—love, grief, anger, madness, and shame, &c. ’Tis a common calamity, a fatal end to this disease, they are condemned to a violent death, by a jury of physicians, furiously disposed, carried headlong by their tyrannising wills, enforced by miseries, and there remains no more to such persons, if that heavenly Physician, by his assisting grace and mercy alone do not prevent, (for no human persuasion or art can help) but to be their own butchers, and execute themselves. Socrates his cicuta, Lucretia’s dagger, Timon’s halter, are yet to be had; Cato’s knife, and Nero’s sword are left behind them, as so many fatal engines, bequeathed to posterity, and will be used to the world's end, by such distressed souls:so intolerable, insufferable, grievous, and violent is their pain, so unspeakable and continuate. One day of grief is an hundred years, as Cardan observes:... as well saith Areteus, a plague of the soul, the cramp and convulsion of the soul, an epitome of hell; and if there be a hell upon earth, it is to be found in a melancholy man’s heart. *** Another doubt is made by some philosophers, whether it be lawful for a man in such extremity of pain and grief, to make away himself:and how these men that so do are to be censured. The Platonists approve of it, that it is lawful in such cases, and upon a necessity; Plotinus... and Socrates himself defends it, in Plato’s Phaedon, “if any man labour

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of an incurable disease, he may despatch himself, if it be to his good.” Epicurus and his followers, the cynics and stoics in general affirm it, Epictetus and Seneca amongst the rest, any way is allowable that leads to liberty, “let us give God thanks, that no man is compelled to live against his will;”... death is always ready and at hand. [D]‌ost thou see that steep place, that river, that pit, that tree, there’s liberty at hand,... as that Laconian lad cast himself headlong... to be freed of his misery:every vein in thy body, if these be..., will set thee free,... there’s no necessity for a man to live in misery.... Wherefore hath our mother the earth brought out poisons, saith Pliny, in so great a quantity, but that men in distress might make away themselves? which kings of old had ever in a readiness,... Livy writes, and executioners always at hand. Speusippes being sick was met by Diogenes, and carried on his slaves’ shoulders, he made his moan to the philosopher; but Ipity thee not, quoth Diogenes,... thou mayst be freed when thou wilt, meaning by death. Seneca therefore commends Cato, Dido, and Lucretia, for their generous courage in so doing, and others that voluntarily die, to avoid a greater mischief, to free themselves from misery, to save their honour, or vindicate their good name, as Cleopatra did, as Sophonisba, Syphax’s wife did, Hannibal did, as Junius Brutus, as Vibius Virus, and those Campanian senators in Livy... to escape the Roman tyranny, that poisoned themselves. Themistocles drank bull's blood, rather than he would fight against his country, and Demosthenes chose rather to drink poison,... Censorius and Plancus, those heroical Romans to make away themselves, than to fall into their enemies’ hands. How many myriads besides in all ages might Iremember,... Rhasis in the Maccabees is magnified for it, Samson’s death approved. So did Saul and Jonas sin, and many worthy men and women,... in Ecclesia, saith Leminchus, for killing themselves to save their chastity and honour, when Rome was taken, as Austin [Augustin] instances, Jerome vindicateth the same in Ionam and Ambrose, commendeth Pelagia for so doing. Eusebius admires a Roman matron for the same fact to save herself from the lust of Maxentius the Tyrant. Adelhelmus, abbot of Malmesbury, calls them Beatas virgines... Titus Pomponius Atticus, that wise, discreet, renowned Roman senator, Tully’s dear friend, when he had been long sick, as he supposed, of an incurable disease..., was resolved voluntarily by famine to despatch himself to be rid of his pain; and when as Agrippa, and the rest of his weeping friends earnestly besought him,... not to offer violence to himself, “with a settled resolution he desired again they would approve of his good intent, and not seek to dehort him from it:” and so constantly died.... Even so did Corellius Rufus, another grave senator, by the relation of Plinius Secundus, famish himself to death;... neither he nor Hispilla his wife could divert him, but... die he would, and die he did. So did Lycurgus, Aristotle, Zeno, Chrysippus, Empedocles, with myriads, &c. In wars for a man to run rashly upon imminent danger, and present death, is accounted valour and magnanimity, to be the cause of his own, and many a thousand’s ruin besides, to commit wilful murder in a manner, of himself and others, is a glorious thing, and he shall be crowned for it. The Massegatae in former times, Barbiccians, and Iknow not what nations besides, did stifle their old men, after seventy years, to free them from those grievances incident to that age. So did the inhabitants of the island of Choa, because their air was pure and good, and the people generally long lived,... with poppy or hemlock they prevented death. Sir Thomas More in his Utopia commends voluntary death, if he be sibi aut aliis molestus, troublesome to himself or

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others (“especially if to live be a torment to him) let him free himself with his own hands from this tedious life, as from a prison, or suffer himself to be freed by others.” And ’tis the same tenet which Laertius relates of Zeno, of old,... and which Plato... approves, if old age, poverty, ignominy, &c. oppress, and which Fabius expresseth in effect.... It is an ordinary thing in China, (saith Mat. Riccius the Jesuit) “if they be in despair of better fortunes, or tired and tortured with misery, to bereave themselves of life, and many times, to spite their enemies the more, to hang at their door.” Tacitus the historian, Plutarch the philosopher, much approve a voluntary departure, and Aust... defends a violent death, so that it be undertaken in a good cause,... no man so voluntarily dies, but volens nolens, he must die at last, and our life is subject to innumerable casualties, who knows when they may happen,... rather suffer one, than fear all. “Death is better than a bitter life,” Eccl. 30:17. and a harder choice to live in fear, than by once dying, to be freed from all. Theombrotus Ambraciotes persuaded Iknow not how many hundreds of his auditors, by a luculent oration he made of the miseries of this, and happiness of that other life, to precipitate themselves. And having read Plato’s divine tract de anima, for example’s sake led the way first. That neat epigram of Callimachus will tell you as much.... Calenus and his Indians hated of old to die a natural death:the Circumcellians and Donatists, loathing life, compelled others to make them away, with many such:but these are false and pagan positions, profane stoical paradoxes, wicked examples, it boots not what heathen philosophers determine in this kind, they are impious, abominable, and upon a wrong ground. “No evil is to be done that good may come of it;” reclamat Christus, reclamat Scriptura, God, and all good men are against it:He that stabs another, can kill his body; but he that stabs himself, kills his own soul.... he that gives a beggar an alms (as that comical poet said) doth ill, because he doth but prolong his miseries. But Lactantius calls it a detestable opinion, and fully confutes it, and S.Austin, . . . so doth Hierom to Marcella of Blesilla’s death, Non recipio tales animas, &c., he calls such men martyres stultae Philosophiae:so doth Cyprian de duplici martyrio;... ’tis mere madness so to do,... To this effect writes Aristotle... but it needs no confutation. This only let me add, that in some cases, those hard censures of such as offer violence to their own persons, or in some desperate fit to others, which sometimes they do, by stabbing, slashing, &c. are to be mitigated, as in such as are mad, beside themselves for the time, or found to have been long melancholy, and that in extremity, they know not what they do, deprived of reason, judgment, all, as a ship that is void of a pilot, must needs impinge upon the next rock or sands, and suffer shipwreck. P.Forestus hath a story of two melancholy brethren, that made away themselves, and for so foul a fact, were accordingly censured to be infamously buried, as in such cases they use:to terrify others, as it did the Milesian virgins of old; but upon farther examination of their misery and madness, the censure was revoked, and they were solemnly interred, as Saul was by David, and Seneca well adviseth,... be justly offended with him as he was a murderer, but pity him now as a dead man. Thus of their goods and bodies we can dispose; but what shall become of their souls, God alone can tell; his mercy may come inter pontem et fontem, inter gladium et jugulum, betwixt the bridge and the brook, the knife and the throat... :Who knows how he may be tempted? It is his case, it may be thine:... We ought not to be so rash and rigorous in our censures, as some are; charity will judge and hope the best:God be merciful unto us all.

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JOHN SYM (1581c.–1638) from Lifes Preservative Against Self-Killing (expanded in Archive)

John Sym, a zealous Calvinist minister born in Scotland and bred under its predestinarian theology, became rector of Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, England, where he remained until his death. He was much respected by his parishioners, though eventually hated by the government during its anti-Puritan periods. His treatise Lifes Preservative Against Self-Killing (1637) was the first full-length work on suicide published in English; although John Donne had written Biathanatos [q.v.] nearly three decades earlier (1608), Donne’s work was not published until 1647, a decade after that of Sym. Sym’s treatise is representative of the increasingly severe attitudes toward suicide developing from the 1530s and ‘40s to the time at which Sym was writing, a century later. Suicide was a felony at law, punished with increasing harshness beginning with the Tudors and Stuarts by forfeiture of property, burial restrictions, and body desecration, and with little mercy for suicide victims who were insane:non compos mentis verdicts were returned in less than two percent of suicide cases tried between the accession of Henry Tudor and the Restoration. There were other voices in the early 17th century:Montaigne’s A Custom of the Isle of Cea [q.v] had been translated into English in 1603, and the plays of Shakespeare [q.v.] had given some currency to Stoic and Epicurean ideas of suicide. Nevertheless, law, religion, and folk belief in England during this period remained adamantly opposed to suicide. Sym was convinced that there was an epidemic of suicide in England at the time he was writing, and indeed the number of reported suicides had increased dramatically. His principal aim in Lifes Preservative is to show that deliberate self-destruction (including the very broad range of behavior he includes under this notion) is a heinous sin. In its full and direct form, suicide is a sin greater than murder—that is, self-destruction is a greater sin than the destruction of another person. Sym’s conceptual analysis of self-killing distinguishes between direct and indirect self-murder, between self-murder by commission and by omission, and between spiritual and bodily self-murder. Thus, suicide as he understands it includes not only direct self-killing but parasuicidal behavior and risk-taking; it includes under the notion of suicidal behavior many forms of self-exposure and self-neglect:idolatry, perjury, self-starvation, lack of moderation in food or drink, unwarranted use of medicines or surgery, exposing oneself to lethal dangers due to inordinate desire for money and possessions, irrational risk-taking by soldiers on the battlefield or sailors at sea, dueling, keeping society with dangerous people, and breaking laws that have capital punishments. While Sym’s concept of suicide is extremely broad, he was actually prepared to be more tolerant in practice than many of his contemporaries, and he believed that it was possible to overcome suicidal despair. As one commentator writes, Sym’s work is “marbled with paradoxes.”

Source John Sym, Lifes Preservative Against Self-Killing, ed. Michael MacDonald. London and NewYork:Routledge, 1988 (facsimile of the original, 1637, spelling and punctuation modernized), from Chapter7, 10, 11, pp. 53–57, 84–88, 90–95, 109–111; quotation in the introductory biography, p.xliv.

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John Sym

from LIFES PRESERVATIVE AGAINST

SELF-KILLING

OF MURDER, AS IT IS OF ONE’S SELF

Of the specific difference of self-murder Besides the consideration of murder, in a man’s killing of himself, the third point in the general description of self-murder is the efficient cause, or means of it, and that is a man’s own self, by his own procurement, who is also the immediate object of that vile fact, whereof now Iam to speak. Here is now the specific difference of this sort of murder, whereby it transcends and is distinguished from all other murders, and consists in restraint of the act of killing, in regard of its individual object, to a man’s own life and self, which is the greatest and cruellest act of hostility in the world. When a man, who by nature is most bound to preserve himself, reflects upon himself to destroy himself, the horribleness whereof is so monstrous that we read no Law made against it, as if it were a thing not to be supposed possible. And this sin, of all others, is most against the Law of Nature, for that self-preservation arms a man to turn upon others unlawfully invading him to kill him. And also, it is against that self-love, which is the rule of our love to others and therefore what we may not lawfully, in this case, do to others, we can less lawfully do it to ourselves against this general law of love; in breaking whereof, specially towards ourselves, we violate the whole law, the general sum whereof is love.

Of the evil and greatness of self-murder. This is the malice of Satan, and our own wretchedness, to set us at division and enmity against our selves, and in a monstrous manner to make a man both the active and passive subject of his own action, and utter destruction of himself, the greatest mischief that can betide him in this world, and so a man’s self becomes his own executioner, by his own hands or means, principal or accessary, by command, or otherwise. ***

Diverse observations from the general consideration of self-murder. From the consideration of self-murder we may observe:first, that man stands in more danger of destruction