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i. e.

Much Time and various Labour oft translate
Life's changing Scenes into a better State;
Inconftant Fortune those in Joy does place,
To whom, e're now, fhe turn'd a reverfe Face.

may induce a Man to kill bimfelf.

Pliny fays, there are but three Sorts of Diseases, for aWhat Caufes voiding of which a Man has a Right to deftroy himself. The feverest of all is the * Stone in the Bladder, when there is a Retention of the Urine. Seneca fays, those Diseases only which, for a long Time, difturb the Functions of the Soul: And fome there have been, who, to avoid a worfe Death, have chofe one of their own liking. Damocritus, General of the Etolians, being carried Prisoner to Rome, found Means to efcape in the Night; but, being close pursued by his Keepers, rather than fuffer himself to be retaken, he ran himfelf through the Body with † his own Sword. Antinous and Theodorus, when their City of Epirus (Paffaro) was reduced by the Romans to the laft Extremity, advised the People to kill themselves all to a Man; but, the Advice to furrender themselves being preferred, they went ** to seek Death by rufhing upon the Enemy with an Intention to ftrike home, and not to ward off a Blow.

Some Years ago, when the Island of Gozo †† was taken Death prefer by the Turks, a Sicilian who had two beautiful red to Slavery. Daughters ripe for Marriage, killed them first, and then the Mother, as fhe was running in to fave them : This done he fallied into the Street with a Crofs Bow and a Hand Gun, with which, at two Shots, he killed two of

the

In the Quarto Edition of thefe Effays, in 1588, Pliny is faid to mention two more, viz. a Pain in the Stomach, and the Head-ach, which, he fays, lib. 25. c. 3, were the only three Diftempers, almoft, for which Men killed themselves: As to their Right of killing themselves, he does not mention a Word of it here; and I can't conceive, why Montaigne, who, at first, entered thoroughly into Pliny's Senfe, by faying, that, according to this Au thor, it was the Custom for Men to kill themselves, in order to be rid of any one of these three Diftempers, made him say afterwards, that they had a Right to kill themselves for this very End. ** Id. ib.

Id. lib. xiv. c. 26.
and not far from it.

+ Tit. Livy, lib. xxxvii. c. 46.
†† A fmall Island to the Weft of Malta,

the foremost Turks advancing to his Door, and then, with Sword in Hand, charged furiously amongst the rest, when he was, on a fudden, furrounded and cut to Pieces; by which Action he faved both himself and his Family from Slavery. The Jewish Women, after the Circumcifion of their Children, flung themselves, with them, down a Precipice to escape the Cruelty of Antiochus. I have been told, that a Prisoner of Quality being in one of our Jails, his Relations knowing that he would furely be condemned, in order to prevent the Ignominy of it, they fuborned a Prieft to tell him, that the fovereign Remedy for his Deliverance was to recommend himself to fuch a Saint, with fuch and fuch Vows, and that he should fast eight Days together, without taking any Sort of Nourishment, however weak and faint it made him. He placed his Faith in the Remedy, and by this Means destroyed himself before he was aware, not dreaming of Death, or of any Danger.

Scribonia's Advice to her Nephew to kill himself.

Scribonia advifing Libo, her Nephew, to kill himself, rather than to wait for the Stroke of Justice, perfuaded him to it, by faying, that it was really doing another Perfon's Business to fave his Life to put it into the Hands of thofe who would come to demand it three or four Days* after, and that it was ferving his Enemies to keep his Blood, for the Fees of fuch Hounds.

Rafias.

We read, in the Bible, that Nicanor, the Perfecutor of God's Law, having fent his Guards to feize The courageous upon old Rafias, who, for his Virtue, was Death of old furnamed the + Father of the Jews, the good Man, feeing no Quarter was to be expected, and finding his Gate burnt down, and his Enemies ready to feize him, and chufing to die like a Gentleman, rather than fall into the Hands of his wicked Adverfaries, and suffer himself to be cruelly butchered, to the Dishonour of his Rank and Quality, stabbed himself with his own Sword; but, doing it in fuch Hafte that he did not give a home Thruft, he ran, and threw himself from the Top of a Wall among VOL. II.

The third Wife of Auguftus Cæfar,
Sence. Ep. 70.

D

Maccab. b. ch. 14. v. 37, — 45.

his

Book II his Enemies, who made Way for him, fo that he pitched directly upon his Head: And, notwithstanding this; perceiving he had still fome Remains of Life, he renewed his Courage, and, ftarting upon his Feet, all bloody and wounded as he was, forced his Way, through the Croud, to a fharp fteep Rock, where, for his last Effort, he drew his Bowels out through one of his Wounds, which, tearing and pulling them to Pieces with both his Hands, he threw amongst his Purfuers, appealing to and invoking the Divine Vengeance to fall upon their Heads.

Of all Violences done to the Confcience, that done to the Chastity of Women is, in my Opinion, Acts of Violence committed the moft difficult to efcape, forafmuch as there on the Chastity is a natural Mixture of corporeal Pleasure in it; of Women. and for this Caufe the Diffent from it cannot be perfect enough, and in the Party forced there seems to be fome Mixture of the Will. The ecclefiaftical History makes reverent Mention of many Inftances of devout Women, who have embraced Death to be fecure from the Outrages ready to be committed by Tyrants, against their Religion and Confcience. Pelagia and Sophronia were both canonifed, the first of whom threw herself, with her Mother and Sifters, into a River, to avoid being forced by fome Soldiers; and the last alfo killed herself, to avoid being ravished by Maxentius the Emperor.

It may, peradventure, be reckoned an Honour to us, in A certain Au future Ages, that a learned Author of the prethor diffuades fent, and particularly a Parifian, would fain the Ladies from perfuade the Ladies of our Time to take any putting themfelves to Death other Courfe, rather than once to entertain the for Fear of a horrid Thought of fuch a defperate Action. Ravifbrrent. I am forry he had never heard (that he might have mixed it with his other Tales) the remarkable Saying of a Woman, which was told me at Tholoufe, who had paffed thro' the handling of fome Soldiers: God be praifed, faid fhe, that once, at least, in my Life, I have had my Swill without Sin. Indeed, our French Ladies are too goodnatured to be guilty of fuch Cruelty to themselves; and, God be thanked, our Air is thoroughly purged of it fince

2

this

a

this good Advice: According to the Rule of honeft * Marot, 'tis enough that they fay No, when they do it.

d

b

Hiftory abounds with Inftances of Perfons that have, a thousand Forms, exchanged a melancholy Death preferLife for Death. Lucius Aruntius killed him-red to a miferable Life. felf, for the Sake, as he faid, of flying from Deeds paft and to come. Granus Silvanus, and Statius Proximus, after being pardoned by Nero, killed themfelves, either because they could not bear to think they owed their Lives to the Pardon of fo wicked a Man, or that they might not be troubled another Time to follicit a fecond Pardon, confidering how apt he was to entertain Sufpicions, and receive' Accufations against Men of Probity. Spargapizes, the Son of Queen Tomyris, being taken Prifoner of War by Cyrus, made Use of the first Favour which Cyrus granted him to be unbound, in killing himself, having propofed no other Benefit from his Liberty than to be revenged on himself for the Difgrace of being taken. Bogez, Governor in Ionia for King Xerxes, being befieged by the Athenian Army, under the Command of Cimon, refufed the Offer made him, that, if he would capitulate, he should return, in Safety, with all his Wealth, to Afia; not having Patience to survive the Lofs of a Place which his Master had given him to keep; therefore after having defended his City to the last Extremity, so that there was no Food left to eat, he first threw all his Gold into the River Strymon, together with every Thing elfe, of which he thought the Enemy would make good Prize: And then having ordered a great Pile of Wood to be fet on Fire, and the Throats of all the Women, Children, Concubines, and Servants to be cut, he caft their Bodies into the Flames, and then leaped in himfelf.

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a In an Epigram, intitled, Yea and Nay, which begins, Un doux Nenny evec un doux Sourire, i. e. One soft Nay, Nay, with a fimpering Smile. Having spoke thus, like a Prophet, he cut his Veins. Tacit. Annal. lib. vi.

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d Herodot, lib. i. p. 98.

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Ninachetuen, an Indian Nobleman, having the firft IntelliRemarkable gence of the Portuguese Viceroy's Determination to turn him out of an Office which he had in Malacca, without any apparent Cause, and Quality. to give it to the King of Campar, formed this.

Death of an
Indian of

Refolution in his own Mind: He caufed a Scaffold to be erected on Pillars, which was not so broad as long, and royally adorned with Tapeftry, and Abundance of Flowers and Perfumes; and then having put on a Robe of Cloth of Gold, inriched with a great Number of costly Jewels, he went out into the Street, and mounted, by Steps, to the Scaffold, in one Corner of which there was a Pile of aromatic Wood lighted. The People flocking to fee to what End thefe unufual Preparations were made, Ninachetuen, with a bold difcontented Countenance, remonftrated how much the Portuguese Nation had been obliged to him; with what Fidelity he had behaved in his Office; that having fo often, Sword in Hand, teftified, in the Behalf of another, that Honour was much dearer to him than Life, he would not abandon his Concern for it in his own Caufe; that, Fortune having denied him all the Means of oppofing the Injury intended to be done to him, he had Courage to free himself, at least, from the feeling of it, and not ferve as a Jeft to the Populace, nor for a Triumph to Men of lefs Worth than himself, which having faid, he leaped into the Fire.

Two Women auho put themfelves to Death,

to encourage

their Husbands to do the fame.

Sextilia, the Wife of Scaurus, and Paxea, the Wife of Labeo, in order to encourage their Hufbands to avoid the Dangers that preffed upon them, wherein they had no Share but for the Sake of conjugal Affection, voluntarily engaged their own Lives, to ferve them for an Example and Company in this extreme Neceffity. What they did for their Hufbands, Cocceius Nerva did for his Country, with equal Affection, tho' not fo much to Advantage. This great Lawyer, flourishing in Health, Wealth, Reputation, and Credit with the Emperor, had no other Motive to kill himself, but mere Compaffion of the miferable State of the Roman Republic.

Tacit. Annal. lib. vi. g Ibid.

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