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Article ON SUICIDE AND MADNESS. Page 1 of 3 →
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On Suicide And Madness.
ON SUICIDE AND MADNESS .
t H 1
flN A LETTER FROM A CELEBRATED DIVINE TO A FRIEND , j MY DEAR . FRIEND , T ? y HEN your sister has so excellent an adviser always near her , 1 should not have ventured to say thing about the " state of her health , but from a full conviction , that no evil that afflicts the human species can exceed nervous disorders when they rise to conside
, any - rable height . A man ' s virtue has never been tried , till he has felt something equal to the pungent misery which they produce in their last stages : and , therefore , when I hear of any person distinguished for the sweetness of his nature , goodness , or integrity , itis of no ° weight with me , unless these virtues hav'e for their basis the sincere love of God , to that degree , that a man can say from the bottom of his soul , O God ! thou knowest that
' my my whole delight is in thee ; that . my heart is continually adhering to , longing , and thirsting after thee ; where-ever I go , and whatever I . do , I know that thou art intimately present in and to my soul ; and that thou art the sum and center of all my thoughts , words , and actions . ' Till a man ' s virtues are built upon this solid rock , let them be ever so specious , ever so attracting , yet . in the day of trial he will assuredly sink under them .
Tins I have often deepl y experienced in myself , and have as frequently observed in others of great pretensions And it effectually demonstrates this great truth , that there is no inherent goodness in manmerely as of himself ; but that it is the gift of God , and must be communicated to the soul by the Deity , and received into it by tlie awakened hunger of that divine seed which is implanted in the depth of the heart of of
every . son man , just in the same manner , and from the same ground , as the sun communicates , and the vegetable world receives , that prolific virtue , which is the cause of all the beauty and perfection with which we see the face of nature adorned . It is a groundless conception , that man , by his natural powers , is able to sustain himself in the most trying circumstancesand to
, even work out his own salvation : this is the cause of vast misery to human creatures ; and , amongst the learned and thinking part of mankind , I can ^ assi gn no other reason for the horrid act of suicide . Cato and Brutus , two distinguished names in the heathen world , are universally acknowledged to have possessed as many greatand excellent virtues as ever dwelt in the soul of any , whom the great Apostle denevni-. nates onlthe natural
y mere man ; and yet history informs us of the tra- ' gical issu e of their lives , when the disorders of advers e and contending interests were brought to a crisis . Now , as we are perfectly acquainted with the natural innate firmness of their souls , and the excellency of their natures , and how strong the Jove of life is implanted in the nature of all men ; to what cause can we ascribe their bavin * recourse to VOL , VIII . B °
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Suicide And Madness.
ON SUICIDE AND MADNESS .
t H 1
flN A LETTER FROM A CELEBRATED DIVINE TO A FRIEND , j MY DEAR . FRIEND , T ? y HEN your sister has so excellent an adviser always near her , 1 should not have ventured to say thing about the " state of her health , but from a full conviction , that no evil that afflicts the human species can exceed nervous disorders when they rise to conside
, any - rable height . A man ' s virtue has never been tried , till he has felt something equal to the pungent misery which they produce in their last stages : and , therefore , when I hear of any person distinguished for the sweetness of his nature , goodness , or integrity , itis of no ° weight with me , unless these virtues hav'e for their basis the sincere love of God , to that degree , that a man can say from the bottom of his soul , O God ! thou knowest that
' my my whole delight is in thee ; that . my heart is continually adhering to , longing , and thirsting after thee ; where-ever I go , and whatever I . do , I know that thou art intimately present in and to my soul ; and that thou art the sum and center of all my thoughts , words , and actions . ' Till a man ' s virtues are built upon this solid rock , let them be ever so specious , ever so attracting , yet . in the day of trial he will assuredly sink under them .
Tins I have often deepl y experienced in myself , and have as frequently observed in others of great pretensions And it effectually demonstrates this great truth , that there is no inherent goodness in manmerely as of himself ; but that it is the gift of God , and must be communicated to the soul by the Deity , and received into it by tlie awakened hunger of that divine seed which is implanted in the depth of the heart of of
every . son man , just in the same manner , and from the same ground , as the sun communicates , and the vegetable world receives , that prolific virtue , which is the cause of all the beauty and perfection with which we see the face of nature adorned . It is a groundless conception , that man , by his natural powers , is able to sustain himself in the most trying circumstancesand to
, even work out his own salvation : this is the cause of vast misery to human creatures ; and , amongst the learned and thinking part of mankind , I can ^ assi gn no other reason for the horrid act of suicide . Cato and Brutus , two distinguished names in the heathen world , are universally acknowledged to have possessed as many greatand excellent virtues as ever dwelt in the soul of any , whom the great Apostle denevni-. nates onlthe natural
y mere man ; and yet history informs us of the tra- ' gical issu e of their lives , when the disorders of advers e and contending interests were brought to a crisis . Now , as we are perfectly acquainted with the natural innate firmness of their souls , and the excellency of their natures , and how strong the Jove of life is implanted in the nature of all men ; to what cause can we ascribe their bavin * recourse to VOL , VIII . B °