PART V.

THE HISTORY OF SUICIDE BEGUN THROUGH MODERN TIMES, OR SINCE THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION: CONTAINING SOME ACCOUNT OF ITS PRACTICE IN THE FIRST AGES OF THE CHURCH; TOGETHER WITH OPINIONS OF FATHERS, DECREES OF COUNCILS, LAWS AND CUSTOMS CONCERNING IT. ITS PRESENT STATE IN SOME FOREIGN COUNTRIES; AND A FULL ACCOUNT OF ALL THAT CONCERNS IT IN ENGLAND.

CHAP. I.

The great prevalence of fuicide in the Roman empire, whilst it continued heathen, and alfo among the Gothic nations who fubverted it, familiarifed the idea of its practice among Chriftian converts.-Hence a prejudice in its favour among fome Chriftians on certain occafions, either to fecure from the hazard of apoftafy, or to procure the crown of martyrdom, or to preferve the crown of virginity.-Zeal of fome Chriftians for voluntary martyrdom before Arrius Antoninus, a proconful in Afia.-Opinions of Justin Martyr and Lactantius on the fame.-Furious paffion for fuicide among the Donatifts.-Sentiments of Auguflin concerning them. Virgin-fuicides.-Pelagia.-Opinions of Chryfoftom, Ambrofe, Jerom and Auguftin Auguftin's general fentiments of fuicide.- Determinations of Councils and Canons made in reprobation of the practice.—No oblations to be received or maffes to be faid for fuicides;--denied Chriftian burial; but the fin not deemed irremiffible by thefe Councils.-Expofure of the body and burial with infamy obtains in most European states on religious accounts; to which has been added on civil ones, the confifcation of property.

on this matter.

1

I

T'has been seen in a former part, how prevalent the practice of fuicide was in the Roman empire, whilft it continued heathen; and it has also been difcovered, that its principle was equally deep-rooted in the breafts of those Scythian or Gothic nations, who were daily pouring down on the Roman provinces. Both the Romans then and their final conquerors agreed in the habits of frequent fuicide, though they practifed it on the most oppofite principles ;—the former to avoid evils in this life, the latter to gain [y] additional rewards in another. However inconfiftent therefore its practice must be deemed with the doctrines of Chriftianity, yet the familiarity of the idea, joined to a certain defire then prevalent among many of blending heathen cuftoms and philofophy with chriftian precepts, could not but excite fome prejudices in its favour. These however did not arife from an [z] inherent defire of getting rid of life (which, as fome have prepofterously maintained, actuates the bulk of mankind) but from the caft and fashion of the times, which either entirely warp the mind from juft principles of action, or lead it to interpret those principles according to the habits and practices of the age be they good or evil. For which reafon an idea of the propriety of fuicide on certain occafions might gain ground in the breaft of a chriftian convert, who happened to be more fraught with a blind zeal than with the powers of difcrimination and judgment; or who being ready to fink under a timidity and failure of spirit during fome impending evil, might think it a duty incumbent on him to take shelter in suicide, as a refuge from the hazard of defection from the faith in Chrift. Wherefore a dread of the want of refolution and conftancy to endure the rage and torments of perfecution without wavering;- a fear of lofing the crown of virginity, or the crown of martyrdom, of both which the moft enthufiaftic notions were then entertained;-thefe were doubts and perplexities, which led many weak-minded, but well-meaning Christians to take refuge in fuicide, either by deftroying themfelves with their own hands or throwing themfelves unneceffarily in the way of perfecution and death. Many good fathers of the church faw and lamented this mistaken conduct and very carneftly cenfured a practice (though they might be inclined fometimes to pity the individual who followed it) which was fo inconfiftent with the genuine fpirit of the Gofpel.

[x] See Part IV. c. ii. on the worfhippers of Odin.

[z] See Part VI. c. i. on Donne's ideas of martyrdom and defires of getting rid of life.

The refcript of Trajan (by which it was commanded, "that Chriftians fhould not be fought out for punishment, but if openly accufed by credible perfons "fhould be required to renounce the faith in Chrift and to return to the religion of the empire, or fuffer condemnation") was more mild in the intention of the emperor than in the progrefs of its execution. For whereas on the one fide it seemed calculated to fcreen Chriftians from needlefs perfecution, so on the other it neceffarily condemned thofe to death, who "were" accufed, unless they renounced their faith. But what is ftill more astonishing, even the designed lenity of this edict difpleafed the fervent zeal of many Chriftians, who feared they might be hereby cut off from the honour of martyrdom for want of accufers. Hence they were frequently led through the intemperance of their zeal to accuse themselves before the magiftrates, and to demand that condemnation, which they might otherwise have escaped: and thus to become in effect voluntary fuicides. A remarkable instance of this kind is recorded by Tertullian. When Arrius Antoninus was proconful in Afia in the reign of Adrian, great numbers of Christians, who were inflamed with a defire of martyrdom, furrounded his tribunal in a body and [A] demanded their own condemnation. The Roman governor was ftruck with the novelty of fuch a scene, and feemed unwilling to condemn so many self-devoted victims. He ordered a few to be led away to punishment in hopes of deterring the reft; but finding them ftill refolute in their purpose, he regarded them with a mixture of astonishment and contempt for their obftinacy and madness. "Miferable wretches (fays he) have you not "then ropes and precipices fufficient to defpatch yourfelves without [B] giving me the trouble of condemning you?"

fo

Now Justin Martyr [c], alluding to the above circumftance in his fecond apology for the Chriftians, fays-" he will tell the proconful, why such a

[A] The zeal for martyrdom has alfo led others on different occafions to cry out on the condemnation of their brethren, "We alfo are Chriftians."

[B] See Tertullian Lib. ad Scapulam. This little book was written to perfuade Scapula (who was a Roman governor in Africa at the beginning of the third century) to defift from perfecuting the Chriftians; "who (Tertullian tells him) wished for nothing fo much as for martyrdom; and that "unless the governor defifted, he would have the fame thing happen to him as had befallen Antoninus "in Afia;" and then after repeating the story he adds, "Hoc fi placuerit & hic fieri, quid facies de "tantis millibus hominum, tot viris ac fœminis, omnis fexûs, omnis ætatis, omnis dignitatis, offe"rentibus fe tibi? Quantis ignibus, quantis gladius opus erit?" &c. &c.

[c] Juftin fuffered martyrdom himself about An. Dom. 166.

despatching

defpatching of themfelves as he recommended to the Chriftians, in order to "fave him the trouble of their condemnation, would not be lawful. Because

we are taught, that God did not create the world to no purpose, but for the "fake of mankind; and that as the Creator of the world has pleasure in those, "who imitate his attributes, fo He has an equal averfion to thofe, who embrace "what is evil in word or deed. If then we fhould all think ourselves at liberty "to kill ourselves, we become the authors, as far as in us lies, of extinguishing "the race of man, and of leaving no one to perform his duty to God; which "must be acting contrary to his divine will and pleasure. But if we are in"terrogated by torture, we do not deny ourselves to be unconscious of guilt; deeming it impious not to speak the truth in every thing, which we know to "be acceptable to God." It may be observed that Juftin judiciously uses such a general argument alone against suicide, as might be supposed to have fome weight with an Heathen, as well as with a Chriftian; well knowing, that any other immediately drawn from Chriftian precepts could have very little attention paid to it by the oppugners of Christianity. He alfo maintains a just distinction between voluntary fuicide, and being only ready to die rather than deny the truth, when called upon to maintain it; but he says nothing in defence of those, who furrounded the proconful's tribunal in eager and unneceffary pursuit of condemnation and martyrdom. A zeal indeed of this kind was neither encouraged nor deemed other than rash and mifguided by every fober-minded Christian. "It is a virtue (fays Lactantius) [D] to defpife death, but not fo as to feek it; or (like many philofophers of great name) to bring it voluntarily upon ourfelves, which is a wicked and impious deed. But when urged to the alternative, either of forfaking God and relinquishing our faith, or of expecting "all torture and death, then it is, that undaunted in fpirit we defy that death "with all its previous threats and terrors, which others fear. For this is "virtue, this is that true conftancy and refolution, which ought ever to be "maintained, that no terror, no violence fhall be able to eftrange us from "God." This was placing the merit of martyrdom in its true light,—when it was neceffarily endured for the truth's fake, but not unneceffarily [E] accelerated. [D] Div. Inftit. L. VI. c. xvii. De vero Cultu. N. B. Lactantius wrote these Institutions about An. Dom. 320.

[E] "When they perfecute you in this city (fays the greatest authority) flee ye to another."See the fubject of Martyrdom more fully difcuffed in Part VI. C. i. on Donne, in answer to what that writer advances:-and alfo what is faid on the same subject in Part III. C. ii. on Christianity.

But how contrary to this diftinction was the furious zeal of the Donatists in coveting martyrdom; infomuch that they must be ranked amid the most voluntary fuicides! The Donatifts caufed great confufion and trouble in the African church during the fourth and fifth centuries. They were not schifmatics in point of doctrine, but their feparation was occafioned by a difpute relative to the election of a Bishop of Carthage. The fchifm was a dreadful one, and pursued with fire and fword by people called [F] Circumcelliones and Circuitores, who were the foldiers of the Donatifts, and at once the ftrength and fcandal of their party; till at length a decree of the emperor Honorius, which was executed with feverity against them, was the caufe of their decline and gradual extinction. That the Donatifts had a strong propenfity to felf-murder and destroyed themfelves in great numbers out of an enthufiaftic zeal for martyrdom in honour of their fect, is agreed by all ecclefiaftical hiftorians. "To kill themselves (fays "Augustin) out of refpect for martyrdom is their daily fport (ludus quotidianus).”—“ Among the Heathens (fays Baronius, as quoted by Donne) you may here and there find one Empedocles, who will burn himfelf; but among "the Donatifts there are fwarms of fuch men (talium hominum examina) [G].” "The rage of the Donatifts (fays Gibbon [H], who paints from Auguftin) was "enflamed by a phrensy of a very extraordinary kind; and which, if it really prevailed among them in fo extravagant a degree, cannot furely be paralleled "in any country or in any age. Many of these fanatics were poffeffed with the "horror of life and the defire of martyrdom; and they deemed it of little mo"ment by what means or by what hands they perished, if their conduct was "fanctified by the intention of devoting themfelves to the glory of the true faith (n. b. he should rather have said of their own fect) and the hope of eternal

[F] In Africâ fuerunt Circumcelliones & Circuitores-genus hominum agrefte, & famofiffimæ audacia, non folùm in alios immania facinora perpetrando, fed nec fibi eâdem infanià & feritate parcendo. Etenim nullibi fiftebant, fed loca omnia circuibant, docentes, quemcunque hominem fe occidentem aut jubentem alteri ut feipfum occideret, effe martyrem.-SAYR's Thefaurus Cafuum Confcientiæ, folio, 1628, Monafterii Weftfaliæ.

[G] Fuerunt qui fibi percuffores fub cupiditate falfi martyrii in fuam perniciem conducebant. Inde etiam illi, qui ex altorum montium cacuminibus viles animas projicientes, fe præcipites dabant.OPTATI Milevitani Epifcopi, De Schifinate Donatiftarum adverfus Parmenianum, Lib. III.

[H] See Hift. of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. III. p. 401. 8vo.