Fourthly wee are to take heed that we be not anxiously perplexed and troubled when upon the using or forbearing of Physick upon warrantable grounds the effect answers not our desire or expectation But suppose the patient dies or labours under any griefe unrecovered without hope of cure it is folly to vexe our selves because we have not used this body or that body this medicine or that medicine thinking or saying if we had done this or that our selves or some other patient belonging to us had beene recovered just as Mary said to Christ Lord if thou hadst beene here my Brother had not died a Ioh. 11.32 When a thing contrarie to our desire is done wherein we are not faultie when wee worke according to our present knowledge and meanes we should rest content with the will of God how adverse or crosse soever it seemes to us considering that as God appoints the end and thing that doe come to passe so doth he likewise direct and order the meanes to accomplish the same For God oftentimes over-rules our purpose mens skill and the nature and effects of Physick to the bringing to passe of his owne purposes contrary to our expectation which must bee attributed to God the soveraigne Lord and is not to bee imputed to unblameable men and meanes that are but the instruments under God and subject to his controle and disposition and therefore touching the events thereupon following wee must bee content to be crossed of our wils sometime that God at all times may have his §. 7. Of deadly things to be resisted 4. Opposition of deadly things Fourthly and lastly to preserve his life every man is bound to decline and oppose all things that tend to the unlawfull taking of it away for that which other creatures do by Antipathie and instinct of nature for shunning that which is contrary or pernicious to them man is by the meanes of his reason and will to do the like for his preservation who by his intellectuall parts can better foresee and discerne what is hurtfull and dangerous to him or his life 1 Invasion The things that especially he is to decline and beware of are First Forcible invasion whereby his life is assaulted or indangered and his death attempted by others For besides the perill that a mans life is in by that inbred poyson of diseases and mortality in himselfe it is lyable to death by meanes from without himselfe whereof a man is to be carefull both to foresee the same and to prevent it or to extricate and free himselfe out of it as we see how Paul understanding of a conspiracy of above 40. men lying in waite to take away his life used his best indeavours to decline and prevent the same by discovery thereof to the chiefe Captaine Act. 23.17 and so our Saviour himselfe gave commandement to his Disciples that when their enemies did persecute them in one citie they should flee to another Mat 10.23 according to his own practise who to avoid and escape the bloody hands of Herod was carried into Egypt 1 Mat. 2. which course is abundantly warranted by manifold arguments and examples in Scripture and upon just reason is so good that necessity of saving a mans life against unjust and violent invasion warrants him both in the Courts of Heaven and Earth in his owne lawfull defence to kill rather than to suffer himselfe to be unjustly killed because that love which is the fulfilling of the Law b Rom. 13.10 begins at a mans selfe it being the rule that we should love our neighbours as our selves How can it bee expected that he will preserve other mens lives that is carelesse of his owne Qui sibi nequam cui bonus 2. Dangerous undertakings Secondly for preservation of mans life he must not onely not submit himselfe passively to private deadly cruelties of others but also he must not actively expose himselfe to hazard the losse of his life upon self-will'd dangerous undertakings without a lawfull calling and sufficiency of strength to undertake or go safely through the enterprise as our Saviour intimates Luk. 14.31 in the parable of the King going to warre that would not undertake above his power 3. Motions of self-murder Thirdly the thing that a man is to decline for preservation of his life is that he do abhorre and reject all unnaturall motions or resolutions of self-murder That the heart of man may neither be suffered to breed nor to entertaine the thoughts of his owne destruction like a viper conceiving and somenting such an issue as in the birth thereof destroyes the parent that gave it being The thoughts of evill that a man doth at first but dally withall and fearelesly beholds in his mind presuming of his power over them at length possesse him and master him and therefore above all things wee are to keep our heart for out of it proceeds all evill Prov. 4.23 Mat. 15.19 if the seed and spawne of sin in the motions of it in the heart be extinguished and destroyed then there is no feare of the breaking of it out in act for as Saint Iames saith Lust first conceives before it brings forth sin a Jam. 1.15 §. 8. Of spending our lives well To spend our lives well Another generall use of the former doctrine of the pretiousnesse of mans life is that wee be the more carefull to husband and spend it well to the glory of God our owne good and comfort and for the good of others among whom we live considering that our life is too good to be spent away in idlenesse to bee wasted prodigally or to bee mis-imployed in the service of sinne and Sathan and is irrevocable when it is past that it cannot be had backe againe that it might be better spent and former errors be undone and therefore we doe ever need with the Psalmist to intreat that God would so teach us to number our dayes that wee may apply our hearts unto wisdome b Psal 90.12 being ever mindfull of the Apostles admonition redeeme the time because the dayes are evill Eph. 5.16 Motives The motives that may move us to spend our time and life well are specially these three following First 1. Badnesse of the times the wickednesse of the world which should make us more watchfull to catch at all opportunities to do good that our life that will waste away with the rust of doing nothing may bee comfortably spent in well doing Happy shall that servant be whom his Lord when he comes shall find doing so Mat. 24.46 2. Shortnesse of our lives Secondly the shortnesse and uncertainty of our lives which passes as a shadow or a vapour that appeares no more puts us in mind not to deferre but while it is called to day requires us with sobriety and watchfulnesse to be couragious and incessant in well doing Post est occasio calva the morrow is not ours and if we be cut off
South and West windes of contrary thoughts making their incursions at once upon him whereby he is sometime driven and cast away upon the deadly rock of direct self-murder with the furious impetuosity of his owne self-perverted judgement will and affections §. 4. Observations from the knowledge of direct self-murder Vses The uses of this knowledge of direct bodily-self-murder what it is are specially three 1. Information or judgement First it serves to informe our understanding in two points 1. Horriblenesse of self-murder Degrees of it First touching the execrable horriblenesse of the fact of this self-murder which is seene in three degrees 1. First in that it is an unjust taking away of the life of a man contrary to Gods Commandement Gen. 9.5 and to the sixt Commandement of the Law which makes it to be murder 2. Secondly in that it is the so taking away of a mans owne life which is most neere and deare to him which makes the fact to be self-murder and is directly opposite to the Law of nature 3. Thirdly in that it is a fact done by a mans selfe upon himselfe advisedly wittingly and willingly which makes it to be direct self-murder intended to the highest degree of that kinde being complicated with and compounded of many pernicious ingredients raising it to the highest pitch of poysonfull disposition The greatnesse of self-murder which both aggravates the sinne of self-murder to a transcendency of wretched badnesse and also shewes the horrible malice and cunning of Satan that was a murderer from the beginning a Ioh. 8.44 in indeavouring mans destruction by mans selfe in such a damnable manner and degree of finning as the devill himselfe without mans owne help cannot possibly effect both to the destruction of Gods Image in him and also to the certaine damnation of the self murderers soule which by that fact the devill labours to gaine to himselfe to make man partner with him in his torments and out of malice against God to disgraoe and deface his Image 2. Mans perversnesse The second point wherein the former doctrine serves to informe our understanding is concerning the perversnesse of the nature of man and the excessive exorbitancy of his courses whereby he is subject and breakes out to kill himselfe which practise of self-murder all other creatures doe abhorre by the instinct of nature and so we see that the most noble creatures are obnoxious and subject to commit the greatest errors by their abuse of their most eminent parts wher oby they doe abase and deject themselves into a miserable estate as farre beneath other creatures by violating the Law of nature as ever God had advanced them above them as is apparent by the fall of the devils for the grievousnesse of sin is to be measured not onely by the matter and act of it but also by the quality of the doers of it and by the circumstances of doing thereof Vse 2. How to behave our selves to our selves The second use is to admonish us that we are not onely to be carefull how we behave our selves in things concerning God and our neighbours but also how we behave our selves towards our selves and in our owne affaires and goods because our love to our selves is the rule of our love to our neighbours whom we are to love as our selves a Levit. 19.18 and to whom wee are to doe as we would be done to by them b Mat. 7.12 and therefore it behooves the rule to bee straight otherwise all things measured by it must be crooked and so from him that carelesly failes towards himselfe no right performances can be done by him to any other qui sibi ne quam cui bonus to whom can he be good that is nought to himselfe Vse 3. A man is to feare and watch himself And therefore seeing wee often prove our owne greatest enemies and doe as much evill to our selves as the devill himselfe can desire and more than he by himselfe or by any other meanes is able to effect or bring to passe upon us it is requisite and needfull that wee bee affraid of our selves and that we neither trust our selves nor trust to ourselves but that we be carefull and doe watch over ourselves neither giving way to our owne opinions nor purposes before wee doe examine them and finde them conformable to the truth all things are to be suspected that come from an Enemy Timeo Danaos dona ferentes and a man hath no such dangerous enemie to himselfe as himself because of his neerenesse to himselfe of his advantages of prevailing against himselfe and of his deceitfull cunning to beguile himselfe so exercising all hostilitie and mischiefe upon himself under pretence and colour of love and friendship to himselfe he is self-betrayed and self-destroyed Vse 3. To discerne things that differ The third use of the former doctrine of self-murder is that thereby wee may discriminate and know diverse cases that are very like this self-murder and yet properly are not direct self-murder nor the doers thereof thereby perishing self-murderers the which exempt cases are of foure sorts §. 5. Of certaine exempt cases Exempt cases 1. Men without reason are not self-murderers The first is when a man destitute of understanding or of the use of reason kills himselfe as a child without discretion a naturall foole a mad man in his mad fits one in his sleepe or in such sits or sicknesse as is accompanied with a delirium or phrensey as in a calenture the same is not in them properly self-murder Reasons why because understanding in them is desicient or passively depraved and not actively and wilfully done by themselves so that they cannot judge morally nor sometimes naturally of their owne actions neither are able rightly to direct them in a state of that impotency of understanding neither is such an act in such persons to be deemed willing or an act of the will so long as reason is wanting without which it is not possible for a mans will rationally to move And therefore in such prancks and mad acts the will whereby they are done is but brutus impetus abrute motion or violence which motion is not from the understanding so much as from accidents making a man not to be himselfe and such a man in doing such an act whereby he kills himselfe intends not the same upon knowledge to the end to kill himselfe and therefore neither in the Courts of earth nor heaven are such persons condemned as self murderers for killing themselves because they are not properly so much agents as sufferers both in the act doing and also in the effect or death thereupon ensuing Case 2. About self-killing ignorantly The second exempt case herein is when a man kills himselfe ignorantly not knowing what he doth or not knowing the mortall nature of the meanes whereby he doth it As he that eates poyson the nature
under their generall Againe Gen. 9.5 God saies That at the hand of man he will require mans blood even at a mans owne hand that is a mans owne blood at his owne hand if he kill himselfe as Peter Martyr interprets it And if by the Word of God it had beene lawfull for a man to kill himselfe then would not the Apostle Paul have cryed out to the Iaylor that was about to kill himselfe That he should doe himselfe no harme a Act. 16.28 for why should he have letted him from doing a lawfull thing or have called it a doing of himselfe harme in any morall consideration Self-murder is against love the summe of the Law Furthermore self-murder is an odious fact contrary to the generall summe of the Law which is love and justice it is against that love that we owe to God in respect whereof wee are to keep his Law and to affect to enjoy him and it is against that love wherewith wee ought to love our selves and whereby we should endeavour our owne wel-fare and happinesse and according to which we should love our neighbours Who can expect better measure at a mans hand than he performes to himselfe if the rule be not straight all that is measured by it must be crooked the Apostle delivers it as an axiome no man yet ever hated his owne flesh Ephes 5.29 and againe he condemnes those that under pretence of wil-worship did not spare their owne bodies b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Col. 2.23 Self-murder is also contrary to the love that we owe to our neighbours by depriving them thereby both of our selves and of all the good and comfort that they might have by our lives Self-murder is against the generall justice of the Law It is likewise against the generall justice of the Law which requires that wee should give to every man his due For self-murder deprives God our neighbours and our selves of their rights God of obedience and glory c Rom. 13.7 by our lives and our neighbours and our selves of that benefit that both should have by our living Question About Superiours Here a question may be moved whether a Magistrate that hath no superiour over him on earth and is guilty of a capitall crime or crimes may justly in punishment of himselfe therefore put himselfe to death or cause others to do it and whether a capitall malefactor whose hainous offence falls not under mans cognizance or being knowne is neglected to be punished as privy murder or blasphemy in the highest degree against God may not in this case or where he is a subject to none other man kill himselfe or cause another to do it in execution of justice Answer I answer to the first branch of the question with Thomas Aquinas negatively because he cannot be his owne capitall Iudge in his owne cause a Sccūdasccuda q. 64. Art 5. Nullus est Judex sui ipsius and so Magistrates that have no earthly superiour over them are lyable to be punished onely by God either immediatly as was Herod b Act. 12.23 or mediatly by extraordinary meanes of Gods raysing up as was Belthazzar by Darius c Dan. 5.30 31. A Magistrate may not kill himselfe nor may be slaine by his people 2 Sam. 11. 12. Magistrates are under the same morall Lawes in equall strictnesse and extent as any other men for before God there is no respect of persons and therefore a Magistrate can no more lawfully kill himselfe than a private man can kill himselfe as wee see in King David who neither did put himselfe nor was put to death by others for his adultery and murder Reasons 1. Finally for no crime can a Magistrate in any case kill himselfe because he is not his owne but the Common-wealths and therefore cannot dispose of himselfe in that respect as he list 2. neither hath the body punitive power of jurisdiction over its head 3. neither is hee to bee valued and esteemed simply as an individuall man who as David was may be worth thousands and therefore for crimes punishable in their particular subjects by death is not to be put to death by his people nor yet to kill himselfe whose losse that way may bring farre more damage than such an execution of Iustice upon him can do good in such a tomerarious manner Magistrates neglect and secret capitall crimes belong not to any to redresse by death upon themselves For answer to the second branch I referre the reader to that which is said before touching insufficiency of the third generall motive to self-murder And further adde that things secret belong to God and the Magistrates omissions and aberrations belong to God and not to private men from private motion in authoritative manner to amend Such a man if to punish himselfe he kill himselfe cannot do it but either as a Magistrate or as a private man then in neither respects can he do it as we have heard and therefore he cannot lawfully do it at all A Case About persons condemned to death what they may do to prevent or hasten it I would here further determine a case which is this Suppose a man be condemned ignominiously to die may he poyson or famish or bleed himselfe to death may hee stab himselfe hang himselfe cut his owne throat break his neck or cast himselfe off the ladder leap into the water or fire either to hasten his death that he is adjudged to or to prevent it specially when it is undeserved Answer They may not kill themselves although commanded to do it although the Iudge should command him to do the same hee ought not to doe it I answer that much lesse may he doe it of his owne accord Reasons 1. because it is against the Law of God and of nature for one to kill himselfe 2. and is an act of self-condemnation as if in his owne opinion he were neither worthy nor fit to live nor yet to die in a warrantable manner by the hand of justice 3. the lengthning of life is a blessing to be imbraced for the good that thereby we may do or get 4. to prevent justice in the execution thereof doth wrong it by invading and usurping the right thereof with injury to the Common-wealth by a self-willed cutting off the members therof in such a disorderly course as opens a way to overthrow the same death is an act of suffering and not of agency of him that is to die 5. self-murder is a more shamefull and uncomfortable death than any other that a man can suffer 6. and it is not the death inflicted by others but the cause thereof in our selves that makes it honourable or disgracefull according to the deserts of our lives If a man be undeservedly condemned to die it is the more honourable and comfortable for him to suffer a 1 Pet. 3.14 17. c. 4. v. 15 16.
points 1. Vncertaine death for certaine good The second Case wherein we may wittingly and willingly without danger of self-murder adventure the losse of our lives is a present urgent and unavoidable necessity for a certaine greater more eligible good which falls out in three points First not only when with an uncertaine danger of our owne lives wee seeke to redeeme the certaine destruction of our neighbours as to cast our selves into the water being skilfull to swimme to save him from assured drowning who hath no other meanes of safety or to cast our selves into desperate dangers for rescue of our wives children or friends from out of the fire or out of the hands of our enemies as did Abraham for Lot a Gen. 14.14 and David for his wives b 1 Sam. 30. or to minister to the necessities of our sick houshold that they perish not in neglect wee ought to venture our lives with them in their infectious diseases But further also to save another from certainly perishing sometimes men may object themselves to certaine death Certaine death for Superiours as if the person be a publicke Magistrate or Prince or evidently of more use and worth in Church or Common-wealth than our selves we may exchange our selves to passe for him as the Scripture intimates with commendation that peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die Rom. 6.7 and the peoples esteeme of David was that he was worth ten thousand of them and therefore would not let him adventure himselfe where if halfe of them should die the enemies would not care for them 2 Sam. 18.3 this respect and preferment of eminency and vertue is not only from love of themselves but also from love of that publike body to which those persons by their lives may be beneficiall For a friend Also a man may for preservation of his deare friend put himselfe upon assured death as our Saviour implies by way of commending the same when he sayes Greater love hath no man than this Ambros lib. 3. officiarum c. 12. de duobus Pythagoraeis Virgil. me me adsum qui seei in me converene serrwn that a man lay downe his life for his friends Therefore this degree of love hee may have and was practised by divers as betweene Nisus and Euryalus Damon and Pythias Pylades and Orestes Object The thing that may seeme to withstand the lawfulnesse of this practice is that generall rule of loving our neighbours as our selves and not otherwise Answ But this is easily answered first by the right understanding of the rule as our selves which notes not the degree or measure of our love 1. It is required that our love be sincere for then must we love all men alike if the rule of the measure be one for quae conveniunt in uno tertio conveniunt inter se they that agree in any one third thing doe agree within themselves but that we are to love all men alike is absurd and against the practice of our Saviour Christ who loved Iohn above the rest of the Apostles then as our selves notes the sincerity of our love for as the Apostle tells us No man ever yet hated his owne flesh Ephes 5.29 So then here is commanded first that we should love our neighbours secondly that for the quality of this love it should be in truth and as we would that others should love us which doth not exclude such a superlative degree of love as may expresse it selfe by a mans dying for his friend as if it were an unlawfull excesse 2. To dye for a friend may bee self-love and lawfull Secondly this doubt may be resolved by the true interpretation of such a mans act because in that degree of love so expressed for his friend he loves himselfe both by the consummation and earthly perfection of the vertue of friendship in him which in some sort beatifies the subject wherein it is and also thereby he gaines to himselfe the honour to be counted more worthy of a friend than a friend was of him Amicus est after ego lovers are said to live rather in those that they doe love than in themselves so that without such friends their lives would be but a languishing dying With mee in this point accords Cardinall Folet upon a Idem ibid. Iohn 15.13 and David à Mauden in his tenth discourse upon the sixt Commandement is peremptory and sayes that * Id non facit ex amore vitae alterius sed ex amore virtutis amicitiae ad ahorum exemplum quod dum sacit se plus quaÌ„ amicum diligit Certum est licitum esse vitam suam certo periculo exponere pro servanda amicivita temporali ex motivo honestatis amicitiae quandoquidem honestas virtutis majus bonum sit quà m vita propria corporalis It is certaine that it is lawfull for a man to expose his life to certaine danger for to preserve the temporall life of his friend upon the motive of honesty and friendship seeing the honesty of vertue is a greater good than his owne corporall life From hence he sayes Licitum esse aiunt Doctores amico peste laboranti inservire cum aequi certo per culo mertis in communi naufragio takulam soâ—io cedere unde si duo amici simul naufragium secissent usque residua eset tal ula cu jus subsidio alteruter ex illis tantum po Yet salvari posset quidem alter eâ non uti ut sibi cam amicus assumeret cujus saluti consultum crpit in kee tamen eventu cavendum est ne quis per positivam aliquam actionem directè neci suae ecoperetur hoc enimilliciâ—â—n est Disetus 10. in praecept 6. numer 3.5 Ema Sa in vocabulo vita that the Doctors affirme that it is lawfull to doe service to a friend that is sick of the pestilence with equally certaine danger of death and in a common shipwrack to yeeld a board to a fellow companion as if two friends have suffered shipwrack together and that there were a board remaining to them by the help whereof only one of them could be saved the one of them may forbeare to make use of the same that his friend whose safety he desires may take it to himselfe Notwithstanding in this case heed must be taken that no man doe directly by any positive action cooperate to his owne death for that is unlawfull Emanuel Sa in his Aphorismes affirmes as much §. 18. Of the second point which is concerning certaine death for certaine more publike good The second point The second point concerning present urgent necessity wherein a man may adventure the losse of his life for a greater good without any danger of self-murder is when by the losse of one or of a few lives many more are preserved Certaine death for greater pub like good for bonum commune est praeferendum proprio
how Page 262 The Law of nature is to be observed Page 269 Lawes of men condemne self-murder Page 277 Lawes given to men are bounded Page 294 Lawfull self-killing Page 54 Vpon lawfull calling how to adventure life Page 125 Leagues Of Leagues Page 119 Letter The Letter of the Scripture is not to be followed contrary to the true meaning Page 199 Lets of endeavour after spirituall life Page 66 Life is a thing of great importance Page 1 Of the kinds of the life of man Page 4 How mans life may be lost 43. and how taken away Page 45 Life unsure 82. It is the object of self-murder Page 159 Life eternall is here begun Page 245 Life temporary is a blessing Page 275 Light of the Spirit twofold Page 200 Live Mans care to live well Page 206 To live by faith Page 313 Love Of love and to love our neighbours as our selves expounded Page 129 Love is destroyed by self-murder Page 272 Lusts Curbing of our lusts is a good revenge upon our selves for our sins Page 234 M Mad men killing themselves Page 250 Madnesse of self-murderers Page 186 Magistrate A Soveraigne Magistrate for no crime may slay himselfe nor be slaine by his subjects Page 264 Man only is subject to self-murder Page 6 Man how subject to death Page 45 Man in greatest danger Page 56 Mans care to live well Page 206 Man onely is capable of shame Page 222 Mans-self wronged by self-murder Page 271. 273 Mankinde To mankinde self-murder injurious Page 270 Manner The manner of executing self-murder Page 187 Man-slayer What a man-slayer is to do to save his friends pursued to death for his fact Page 133 Mariners Concerning mariners Page 113 Meanes to be used for spirituall life Page 28 Of meanes of conversion why appointed of God Page 31 Meanes of preservation of spirituall life Page 39 Meanes weakening and quickning zeale Page 41 Meanes of losse of life Page 44 The meanes of the destruction of spirituall life Page 45 The meanes of self-murder Page 183. 185 Meanes for knowledge of the Scripture Page 199 Meanes of sin cut off Page 234 Meanes to prevent self-murder Page 311 Meanes against Satans motions to self-murder Page 250 Melancholick persons killing themselves Page 250 Melancholick people in danger of self-murder and why Page 254 Memory How by meanes of his memory man suffers Page 165 Men self-blinded Page 209 Merchant Of merchant men Page 139 Minde how the mindes distemperarature procures indirect self-murder Page 110 The minds calamities Page 217 Ministery of the word and its use Page 29 Mischance Of killing ones selfe by mischance Page 173 Mis-spend How men mis-spend their lives Page 19 Moderation of war for Religion Page 144 Mortifying humiliation a good revenge upon ones selfe Page 234 Motions of self-murder to be abhorred 18. They are most hardly shaken off Page 182 Motions of the devill causing self-murder 246. How knowne to bee from him Page 248 Of motions of self-murder entertained 257. Horrible motions to be withstood Page 314 Motives to self-murder c. 15. throughout Page 191 Murder In murder things observable 48. murders vilenesse 49. what it destroyes ibid. Whence murder comes 51. What kind of act it is how man is restrained from it 52. How murder is not to be desired to be done upon us Page 274 Murderers of others murder themselves by the same act Page 53 Mutes Of standers mute at Triall refusing to answer legally Page 96 Mutilation of body procuring self-murder Page 110 N Natures opposition to true obedience Page 63 Nature is against self-murder Page 269 283 Naturall How naturall life is known 6. wherein mans naturall life consists 8. The sweetnesse of it the losse of it painfull and horrible 9 How it is deare and pretious the degrees of it 10. How it is well spent and ill spent 19. How it is taken away Page 44 Necessity Vrgent necessity may make men adventurous of their lives Page 128 Necessaries The want of necessaries for the body Page 213 Neglect of outward meanes of life Page 60 Neglect of the power of the meanes of spirituall life Page 60. Neglect of meanes is tempting of God Page 95 Of neglect of duties Page 260 Negative righteousnesse Page 65 Nocent or criminall persons how and when to discover themselves Page 137 O Obedience Of actuall obedience the grounds 36. the kinds Evangelicall and Legall Page 61 Want of obedience and reasons of it Page 62 How the obedience of the Gospell differs from the obedience of the Law Page 71 Of obedience and disobedience to unjust suspension and deprivation Page 148 Of unlawfull obedience Page 162 Obey Disobedients to God forward to obey the devill Page 206 Our care to obey the truth Page 210 Observe What self-murderers observe Page 187 Observant To bee observant of occurrences Page 181 Observations from indirect self-murder Page 155 Obstinate Self-murderers are obstinate Page 187 Old-man Our old-man of sin we should kill and how done Page 54 Omission A fourefold omission of dutie 60. Of sins of omission Page 62 Omission deprives man of life eternall Page 64 By omission how indirect self-murder is committed Page 91 Of the not omission of necessary duties upon perill of life Page 146 Opportunity self-murderers observe Page 187 Oracles occasioning self-murder Page 202 Over-charging ones selfe in doing good Page 21 Outward blessings are a ground of cheerefulnesse Page 14 P Parricide and whence it proceeds Page 256 Passions To contrary passions all earthly things are subject Page 3. Immoderate passions kill Page 123 Of passions disappointed Page 219 Patient suffering for Gods truth Page 38 Pelagia That Pelagia and such others that killed themselves were not self-murderers Page 205 Perishing That all perishing soules are self-murdered Page 57 Perseverance upholds spiritual life Page 41 Person Where the person of a man is after his death Page 50 Our persons destroyed by self-murder Page 272 Perversenesse of man Page 170 Perverted judgement hinders spirituall life 66. and occasions self-murder Page 192 Philolaus his opinion against self-murder Page 277 Phrensie the cause sometime of self-killing Page 250 Spirituall phrensie whence it arises Page 251 Phrenticks in their fits killing themselves Page 174 Physick and how it is to be used Page 14 92. 111 Platoes opinion against self-murder Page 279 Pleasure and profit hinder obedience Page 63 Practise Of unwarrantable practise of Physick and Chirurgery Page 111 Practise gives denomination Page 175 Praise Of vaine praise of self-murderers 194. and of praise more largely Page 242 Prayer a preservative of life 12. the neglect of it how hurtfull Page 94 Prayer is a help to know the Scripture 200. Of a self-murderers antecedent prayer before the fact Page 206 Of prayer to prevent self murder Page 315. 323 324 Preaching Of Common-place and metamorphozed preaching Page 196 Predestination blameless of mans destruction Page 156 Preferment How preferment hinders spirituall life Page 66 Premeditation of self-murder Page 185 Presumption Of presumption Page 67. 310 Prevent To prevent self-murder
which is bad and it is either a wilfull debiliating of ones selfe to good or killing of ones selfe for his sin by excessve griefe against which wee have already spoken in some sort or else this revenge is in laying violent hands upon ones selfe purposely to mutilate or kill himselfe out of indignation for his sinne Causes The causes hereof are specially two 1. Desperation First desperation in regard of the horriblenesse and grievousnesse of the sinnes whereof a man is guilty and by which hee is confounded in his conscience and for that withall hee conceives and perswades himselfe that God will never be mercifull to him to pardon him 2. Ease of conscience Secondly affectation indeavour to ease ones troubled and restlesse conscience for some unnaturall cruelties and crying crimes by satisfaction of Iustice according to his demerits makes himself to destroy himself but of this case we have spoken before The saul inesse of this revenge This revenge upon ones selfe in this manner upon this cause is many wayes faulty 1. First because of the opinion of expiation of sinne thereby which nothing can doe away or can quiet the conscience but onely the blood of our blessed Saviour Christ 2. Secondly because sinne cannot be done away by sin and such as is worse than the former no more than fire can be quenched by addition of more fire to it the punishment of sinne belongs to God and his Vicegerents whose lawes are violated 3. Thirdly no man is a competent judge over himselfe in this case either to cleare or to condemne himselfe Non est quis idâ—neus judex inse in propria causa Nemo halet in se authoritate est non sit seipso superior Filli. Because it is impossible that he should bee both Superiour and inferiour to himselfe or that he should not be partially inclined in his affection to himself either in love or hatred 4. Fourthly not by killing our selves which deprives us of the necessary time of repentance but by repentance and faith in Christ our past sinnes are to be done away how grievous soever they be Sibi adimit necessariuÌ„ poenisteÌ„tiae sepus Tho. 2.2 q. 64. Art 5. by living according to the will of God and not by dying by our owne hands our sinnes are reformed and God glorified God sayes that he wills not the death of a sinner Ezek. 18. why then should we will it 5. For peace of con cience what is to be done in this case Fiftly for peace of conscience in that case God hath appointed other meanes as 1. First humiliation and repentance before God 2. Secondly confession to godly Ministers for advice and comfort 3. Thirdly if the former will not do then are we to put our selves to open shame for private faults by publick penance in the Church or to put our selves into the hands of the Magistrates to suffer for our crimes by the civill sword Second kind of revenge Against others The second kinde of revenge is intended against others by ones killing of himselfe when he is implacably offended by others from whom he can neither have satisfaction nor reformation of his grievances and when his death by his owne hands may redound to the hurt or disgrace as he thinks of those that have wronged him Who in this respect are most subject to self-murder Which practise of self-murder upon this motive is most incident to persons of the weakest sexe and worst disposition and condition such as be women and servants and men sympathizing with them in qualities as a Wife that because shee cannot have her will of or with her Husband kils her selfe to the intent to disgrace him with the reproach of being the occasion of that fact to grieve and vexe him and to deprive him of all benefit and comfort that he might have by her life and to hurt him by all the evill that can betide him by her death The unreasonablenesse of the practise Which is a mad course for one to pull out both their owne eyes to the end that another may lose one of his Such persons doe die in implacable malice and are certainely damned by their owne act and manner of concluding their life A good revenge There is a good and lawfull revenge to bee exercised upon those that wroug us which is in killing that evill in them whereby they offend God and us by instructing and reforming them by holy admonitions and example and also in killing their enmity with preservation of their persons by our love and good dealing towards them making them our friends both in affection and behaviour whereby our enemies are destroyed and our selves benefited Touching killing a mans selfe in revenge for his sins S. Augustine sayes that We affirme that no man ought for his sinnes past to kill himselfe Hoc asserimus neminem propter sua peccata praeterita propter que magis â—ac vita opus est ut possit poeniteudo sanari cum fructuosam agere possumus poeniteâ—â—â—â— apud Deum Jude sacium meritò detestamur cum se liqueo suspendit seeleratae illiâ—s traditionis auxisse potiùs quam expiâsse commissùm quoniam Dei miscricerdiam desperando exiâ—â—abiliter penitus nullum sibi salubris poenitentiae locum reliquit suae mertis reus sinivil â—ane vitam quia licet propter suum scelus alio seclere suo eccisus est for which hee hath rather need of his life that by repentance they may be healed And condemnes the same when we may by living performe profitable repentance before God And further sayes that we doe justly abhorre the fact of Iudas seeing when hee hanged himselfe he did rather increase than expiate the fact of his flagitious treason because damnably despairing of the mercy of God he left no place of saving repentance to himselfe he ended this life being guilty of his own death for although he was flaine for his owne vile fact yet it was by another vile fact of his owne And so it is apparent that for sinne past or for revenge no man can murder himselfe warrantably §. 19. Concerning prevention of sin to come The fourth generall motive to self-murder Prevention of sinne The fourth generall motive of men to self-murder is prevention of sin to come which a man conceives will inevitably be effected to Gods dishonour and his owne disgrace if he doe still live and may by his death be prevented and therefore doth he hasten and inflict the same with his owne hands Those sins for which hee would kill himselfe to prevent them are of two sorts 1. The sins of others First they are the sinnes of others for which a man would kill himselfe either that he may not see them to his griefe or that he may not be the object or subject of other mens committing of them As those women that to avoide ravishment and of being deflowred