* New York Journal, 1805. An Interview.
_Question_. Do you think that what you have written about suicide has
caused people to take their lives?
_Answer._ No, I do not. People do not kill themselves because of the
ideas of others. They are the victims of misfortune.
_Question_. What do you consider the chief cause of suicide?
_Answer._ There are many causes. Some individuals are crossed in love,
others are bankrupt in estate or reputation, still others are diseased
in body and frequently in mind. There are a thousand and one causes that
lead up to the final act.
_Question_. Do you consider that nationality plays a part in these
tragedies?
_Answer._ No, it is a question of individuals. There are those whose
sorrows are greater than they can bear. These sufferers seek the peace
of death.
_Question_. Do you, then, advise suicide?
_Answer._ No, I have never done so, but I have said, and still say, that
there are circumstances under which it is justifiable for a person to
take his life.
_Question_. What do you think of the law which prohibits
self-destruction?
_Answer._ That it is absurd and ridiculous. The other day a man was
tried before Judge Goff for having tried to kill himself. I think he
pleaded guilty, and the Judge, after speaking of the terrible crime of
the poor wretch, sentenced him to the penitentiary for two years.
This was an outrage; infamous in every way, and a disgrace to our
civilization.
_Question_. Do you believe that such a law will prevent the frequency of
suicides?
_Answer._ By no means. After this, persons in New York who have made up
their minds to commit suicide will see to it that they succeed.
_Question_. Have your opinions been in any way modified since your first
announcement of them?
_Answer._ No, I feel now as I have felt for many years. No one can
answer my articles on suicide, because no one can satisfactorily refute
them. Every man of sense knows that a person being devoured by a cancer
has the right to take morphine, and pass from agony to dreamless sleep.
So, too, there are circumstances under which a man has the right to end
his pain of mind.
_Question_. Have you seen in the papers that many who have killed
themselves have had on their persons some article of yours on suicide?
_Answer._ Yes, I have read such accounts, but I repeat that I do not
think these persons were led to kill themselves by reading the articles.
Many people who have killed themselves were found to have Bibles or
tracts in their pockets.
_Question_. How do you account for the presence of the latter?
_Answer._ The reason of this is that the theologians know nothing.
The pious imagine that their God has placed us here for some wise and
inscrutable purpose, and that he will call for us when he wants us. All
this is idiotic. When a man is of no use to himself or to others, when
his days and nights are filled with pain and sorrow, why should he
remain to endure them longer?