Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A26335
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An essay concerning self-murther wherein is endeavour'd to prove that it is unlawful according to natural principles : with some considerations upon what is pretended from the said principles, by the author of a treatise intituled, Biathanatos, and others / by J. Adams ...
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Adams, John, 1662-1720.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing A483; ESTC R22152
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139,541
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336
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to have been done amiss whereas here Repentance goes beforehand and the Person is reckon'd to have confess'd the Crime before he has committed it or else 't is Resolution against doing something that is Evil but how can this be when the Person is Positively resolv'd for it this is strange trisling with a Man 's Own Conscience and with God and what can be more provoking than to know the Evil of an Action to foresee that it wants Repenâ—…ance to be sensible that it ought to be abhorr'd and avoided and yet to do it for all that If it be said that a Man may have time to Repent afterwards and that he may possibly contrive his Death accordingly Alas what hopes can he draw srom hence to design sirst positively to commit that which one acknowledges to be Evil and to design to ask forgiveness when 't is committed is an undeniable Evidence that a Man transgresses Presumptuously against the Light of his own Reason for the more necessary that he thinks Repentance is the more clear sense must he have of the Evil of the thing which he is about to do and therefore the greater must his Punishment be 2. The Person who is guilty of Self-murther can receive no Punishment in this World which he can be sensible of and therefore shall be punish'd the more hereafter I have shewn already * Sup. pag. 26 27 that among other things which prove the unlawfulness of Self-murther 't is a greater Crime in respect of the Publick than the Murther of another Man because some satisfaction may be made for that especially to the Publick by the forfeiture of the Persons own Life and by the terrour of his Example But in Self-murther there can be nothing of this the Offender evades all sensible Punishment he makes no Satisfaction considerable for despising and breaking the Laws of his Country and encouraging others to do so He brings Horrour Confusion Infamy and Poverty often upon his forsaken Family and yet does it often upon this very Account that he cannot be Punish'd here and therefore will undoubtedly suffer in a more dreadful manner hereafter Thus I have considered the several Significations of the Word Liberty as a pretence for Self-murther and shewed what that Liberty is in General which Man has as to his own Actions That no Evil which oppresses the Body can be destructive while Reason remains to the Liberty of the Soul That no Sickness or Pain whatsoever can be any sign that God gives the Sufferer Liberty to destroy himself That he who does so to obtain Liberty or Ease from any such Evils shall fall into a state of greater Slavery and therefore that Liberty in what sense soever is an unreasonable pretence for Self-murther And now I have gone through what I propos'd laid down the Principles upon which I take Self-murther to be unlawful Answer'd such Objections as I thought most strong against them and withal examin'd those General Prejudices by which People are usually misled in this Matter I will not trouble the Reader with any more particular view of what has been said If he wants this he may have it by turning back to the Contents But hitherto we have been led only by Natural Reason if the Principles which we have argued from were brought to what is revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures the unlawfulness of this Act would quickly appear more Plainly For as to God's Propriety in Man There we may find in how wonderful a manner this is increas'd by the Death of our Crucifi'd Lord who purchas'd us by his Blood made us Members of his Body uniting us to Himself by his Holy Spirit Thus too as to the end of Humane Life there our Reason is instructed what to believe and our Wills what to do and encourag'd to obey accordingly by the assistance of the same Spirit And although we may see there that the best of Men in the following of this End shall be expos'd to great Afflictions to Poverty Sickness Disgrace nay sometimes to Death it self yet we may see also the great advantages of such Sufferings by the improvement of ourSouls and the increase of our Reward And above all for the enabling us to undergo them in their worst Extremes we have there set before us the most Excellent Example of Patience Constancy and Humility in the meek and forgiving Son of God What Contempt or Disgrace what Torture of the Body could ever equal what He Suffer'd in his Death What Sorrow and Anxiety what Torments of the Mind could ever be compar'd to what He felt in the Garden and yet with what Duty and Resignation did He submit to all O my Father if it be possible let this Cup pass from Me nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt These Blessed Words alone if rightly consider'd might afford in what Circumstances soever the most Sovereign Preservative against this dreadful crime of Self-murther But Arguments of this kind may if it be found necessary be insisted upon more conveniently hereafter FINIS
several kinds * Biath p. 51 52 53. 1. Such as are drawn from particular Persons of which many are Fabulous as that of Homer Others such as suffered Death to maintain their Virtue and for the Publick as Regulus Codrus or Persons scandalous as Comas Festus As for the Gladiators they did not prove any desire of Death as Natural These were of two sorts Forc'd or Voluntary they who were forc'd to be Gladiators as Captives in War fought for their Lives or Liberties they who chose to be so fought for Applause and after all many despis'd this Applause to ask their Lives of the People many others had theirs given for a Reward of their Skill and Courage which they gladly accepted wherefore no Instance in the World could be more improper than this to prove Self-murther Natural 2. The next kind of Examples are more General †p. 54. such as are drawn from the Customs of whole Nations or from the ‖ p. 73. Connivency or appointment of humane Laws Here I must desire that two things must be observ'd 1st That in the alledging of Examples of this kind a great difference should be made between Nations many being so Ignorant and so Savage that it would be very strange to fetch the Principles of right Reason from among them Poâ—…phyrius says * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Some People are grown so wild and brutish that to quote their Customs would be to scandalize humane Nature the Instances which he gives are very proper for our Purpose The Massagetes says he reckon those unhappy who die a Natural Death and therefore Eat their dearest Friends when they grow Old The Tibarenians break their Necks down a Precipice The Bactrians throw them alive to their Dogs and Strasanor Alexander's Lieutenant had almost lost that Province for endâ—…vouring to break this Custom The Sâ—…cythians bury the dearest Friends of the Deceasâ—…d with them alive or slay 'em upon the Funeral Pile Wherefore when we quote Nations for Examples we ought first to have a particular regard to their Condition their Learning their Wisdom and their Virtue and should be sway'd least of all by those who are in either of the wide extreams of Luxury or Barbarity 2. In the next place secondly we ought to enquire carefully into the ground and occasion of the Custom which is pleaded whether it be founded upon some Religious or Superstitious Principle or encouraged by some Political Consideration any of which if it be it ought not to be alledg'd as meerly Natural By these two Rules let us examine the Instances which are here brought and first that of the Gauls Our Author says That * Biath p. 53. In Caesar's time for one who dy'd Naturally there dy'd many by this devout Violence there are some whom he calls Devotos and Clientes or Soldurios which always when the Lord dy'd Celebrated his Funeral with their own Caesar says that in the Memory of Man no one was found that ever refused it This is not Reported Candidly the matter was thus upon Adcantuannus's Sallying with 600. Men which did great Execution Cesar says That it was the Custom among the Gauls for People to devote themselves to some great Man upon this Condition that on the one side they were to enjoy in Common all the Benefits of Life On the other side if any Violence was offer'd to him and their Defence or Assistance necessary they were either to dye with him or save him or if not kill themselves afterwards this alone is that which he says * Neq adhuâ—… hominum memoria repertus est quisquam qui 〈◊〉 interfecto cujus amicitiae se devovisset mori 〈◊〉 lib. 3. de bello Gal. no one ever refused From whence 't is plain 1. That this was a League Offensive and Defensive only for the preserving of Life on both sides The one for Nourishment and Defence against Hunger the other for Defence against Violence these Men did not affect Death but Life Death was the Bond of their Fidelity to their Friend and Lord if this had not been dreadful to 'em it could not have been any tye upon them if it was dreadful It could not be naturally desir'd though they brought it upon themselves 2. This being put in practice not when the Lord dy'd of any Distemper but only when he was Kill'd and most of his Clients who were to defend him being slain with him as must be supposed it cannot be true that many dy'd thus for one that dy'd a Natural Death To this may perhaps be added the Custom of the Ancient Goths and Vandals who used to cast themselves down steep Rocks into a Bay which they call'd Odin's Hall * Sir W Temples Miscel. p. 241. This Odin or Wodin was their God of War had humane Sacrifices offer'd to him and was suppos'd to appear and invite his Votaries into †Vid Stephan Comment in Saxon. Gramâ—…at lib. 6. p. 55. Balhalden i. e. Pluto's Palace or perhaps Baal's Hall These Ignorant People supposed that this Gulph led down to this Hall and that for this haste which they made they should be Feasted and Rewarded there made themselves away out of a Religious Principle and yet in no other manner than by throwing themselves down this Precipice The next considerable Instance is of the Samanaei Priests in great request among the Indians who he says ‖ Vide Porphyâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lib. 4. studied ways how to die when they were in perfect Health these were an Order of Religious Men who professeâ—… Poverty renounc'd all Food of Flesh or any Living Creature liv'd in continual Retirement and when they had purg'd their Souls in this manner thought they might give them case but this was thro a Religious Principle and therefore not Natural nor put in practice by those of that Nation who were not of the same Order There are other Instances of the Indians in History * Inquinari putant ignem nisi qui Spirantes recipit Q. Curtius lib. 8. Curtius speaks of a sort of Wise Men among them that burnt themselves alive for which he gives this Reason that they reckon'd Fire which they Worship'd perhaps for a God as the 〈◊〉 did Polluted by dead Bodies Thus Calanus burnt himself in the presence of Alexander and †〈◊〉 lib. 15. Strabo speaks of an Indian that came upon an Embassy to Augustus who afterwards upon his Return at Athens though in perfect Health and Prosperity burnt himself publickly to do Honour to his Sect and Country among the Stiocks and other Philosophers there as is most Probable But that which is observable here is that their voluntary dying was in but one particular way namely by Fire which was grounded upon a Religious Opinion that the Soul was purg'd by that Element from that Pollution which it had contracted in the Body and then conveyed by it upwards to its place of Happiness Thus we are told by