132 SUICIDE. 



6. Or it is a captive, and insurmountable obstacles are 

 placed in the way of the natural gratification of its imperious 

 instincts, appetites, or passions. 



7. It may be affected with some of the forms of insanity 

 especially with that mental depression, despondency, or 

 melancholia, that so frequently arises from grief, and so fre- 

 quently, in man also, terminates in or gives rise to suicide. 



8. It has probably suffered for a series of years from 

 man's cruelty or ill-usage in some form or other, and very 

 probably also it feels keenly the injustice or ungratefulness 

 of his neglect or maltreatment. 



9. Occasionally maternal affection or other kindly or 

 generous emotions lead to useless self-sacrifice. Thus the 

 stork perishes by fire rather than desert her young (Hou- 

 zeau), though she can do them no good by so sacrificing 

 herself. 



Whatever may have been the original causes or motives, 

 the results that immediately precede and lead to suicide are 

 or include the following : 



1. Abrogation of the normal love of life or of self-pre- 

 servation. 



2. Choice of a minor rather than of a major evil. 



3. Formation of a plan of suicide. 



4. Eesolution or determination in carrying out that plan, 

 involving 



a. Eepeated effort, if obstacles are interposed. 

 I. Eefusal of all means of help. 

 c. Adoption of efficient means of securing the 

 desired end. 



5. Farewell-taking, by look or otherwise, of familiar and 

 loved scenes, persons, or objects. 



All these and other preliminaries of suicide in the lower 

 animals may be illustrated by such incidents or anecdotes as 

 the following : 



A case of suicide in the dog is given by Morris, as illus- 

 trative of man's pitilessness to his worn-out animal depen- 

 dents. The poor animal was old, infirm, paralysed, useless, 

 an outcast and a wanderer. Prior to its suicide by drowning 

 it was characterised by sadness of look. It obviously pon- 



