EUTHANASIA. 93 



" It is probably from surgical cases that the strongest arguments 

 for euthanasia may be drawn. One of the highest authorities respect- 

 ing such cases, the late Sir Benjamin Brodie, said that a very moder- 

 ate amount of pain, if continued for a long time, would make any one 

 heartily tired of life. He remarked also, that during his whole life he 

 had known only two dying persons who showed any fear of death ; 

 and that both those died of bleeding. One cause of this singular cir- 

 cumstance probably was, that in these two cases there was hardly any 

 pain to distract the mind ; and the fact is curious, as showing how 

 rare, in Sir Benjamin's experience, such painless deaths must have 

 been." 



The publication of this paper gave the discussion a fresh impulse, 

 and numerous articles and letters have appeared in the English press, 

 a few in favor of Euthanasia, but most of them decidedly against it. 

 The Saturday Review, which had at first coquetted with Mr. Williams's 

 theory as a novelty, upon sober reflection condemned it. The follow- 

 ing is a part of its argument : 



" It is of primary importance to inculcate a regard for the sanctity 

 of human life. The reluctance to take life is indeed often pushed to 

 an extreme by the opponents of capital punishments. But nobody 

 can say that the mass of the population have as yet pushed their ten- 

 derness to the verge of effeminacy. A little story, related for a differ- 

 ent purpose in the Fortnightly Hevieto, illustrates very prettily a sen- 

 timent which is not so uncommon as might be desired. A sensible 

 Scotchman watching by the bedside of his dying wife became impa- 

 tient at the poor woman's anxiety to express her last wishes, and 

 civilly requested her to ' get on wi' her deeing.' Now, among the 

 poorer classes, where the inconvenience inflicted by people who ' take 

 an unconscionable time in dying ' is necessarily felt much more keenly 

 than with people in a different rank, it is to be feared that this deli- 

 cate hint is frequently followed up by some practical remonstrances. 

 i They pinched his nose beneath the clothes,' as Barham says, on the 

 authority of a real occurrence, ' and the poor dear soul went off like 

 a lamb.' Suppose, in fact, the case of a small cottage, where the in- 

 valid has become a heavy burden upon his family instead of a support, 

 where the expense of providing medicine and attendance is most seri- 

 ously felt, and where the sick-room is also the only dwelling-room, 

 must there not frequently be a strong temptation to give him a quiet 

 push or two along the downward path ? If it were understood to be 

 the law that invalids might be finished off when the case was hopeless, 

 would not the temptation be frequently overpowering? Yes, it is 

 replied, but the doctor and the parson must be present. That is all 

 very well, but, if the practice became common, the people would 

 quickly learn to take the law into their own hands. For it is to be 

 observed that this is one of the cases where nobody could tell tales. 

 A man on the verge of death does not require to have his throat cut 



