SUICIDE (from Lat. .30, of one's self + -ci dium, a killing, from effdere, to kill). The in tentional taking of one's own life. Among uncivilized peoples suicide is by no means un known, though it has generally been regarded as uncommon. It is favored by the teaching of some Oriental religions, but expressly forbidden by the Koran. Aristotle condemned sui cide as unmanly, and early Greek custom accorded dishonorable burial to the perpetrator; but later practice, especially under influence of the Stoics, was much less severe. The Romans, also affected by Stoic doctrine, recognized many legitimate reasons for suicide and punished with confiscation of property only suicides committed to escape punishment for a grave crime. The Justinian code admitted seven excuses for sui cide, ranging from madness to mere life-weari ness. Under Christianity the spirit of law and custom was radically modified. To Saint Augus tine suicide was essentially a sin, and several Church councils, from the fifth century. deprived the corpse of the ordinary rites of the Church. Medi:Tv:11 law usually provided confiscation of the suicide's property, while custom decreed in dignities to the corpse, such as dragging by the heels face downward, as in France. or burying at the cross-roads with a stake through the body, as in England. Later English law compelled for feiture of lands and goods in all eases of suicide, but the requirement came to he frequently evaded through the granting of a coroner's verdict of insanity, and the law itself was abolished in 1870. A statute of 1823 made it legal to bury suicides in consecrated ground, but it was not till 1882 that religious services were expressly permitted. In France at the present time neither suicide nor attempt at suicide is punishable. In the United States suicide is not a crime, but it is nnlawfnl, and an unintentional killing of an other during an attempt at self-destruction is homicide. An attempt at suicide is a common law misdemeanor, and in some Stat'es a felony by statute. Thus in New York. aiding a suicide is manslaughter in the first degree, aiding an attempt at suicide is felony, and the attempt itself by a sane person is felony. punishable by
not over two years in State prison. or a fine of not over $1000, or by both. Suicide generally The remarkable differences which appear be tween countries are due rather to race and national characteristics than to climate. This is well shown by suicide rates in the United States. 1n 1900 in the registration area persons with mothers born in France had a suicide rate (per million) of 220; Germany, 193; England and \Vales, 104; Ireland, 61; Russia and Poland, 58; Italy, 51. In the registration area as a whole the rate was 103 in 1890 and 118 in 1900, being very much higher for white persons than for colored. The most notable difference of rate is that occasioned by sex, males usually consti tuting from four-fifths to three-quarters of the total suicides. Statistics of several States and of foreign countries indicate that the preponder ance of males has been increasing during recent decades. When age is considered together with sex, it appears that while suicide in general in creases with age, the ages at which women most tend to self-destruction are much under the cor responding ones for men. Thus in the United States (1900) there were out of 1000 suicides at known ages, 1.2 committed by males under 15 years, but 7.8 by females; for the age period 15 to 19 the rate was 18.8 for men. 100.5 for women; for 30 to 34 years it was 103.4 and 109.7 respectively; while for 40 to 44 the male rate was in excess. 117.3 to 90.1 ; and the men then continue to preponderate up to S5 years. Married people show a lower suicide rate than single, and single than widowed or divorced per sons. Large cities have an unfavorable influence. The rate in Dresden is more than 500 per 1,000.000; in Paris. more than 400: in London, about 230: in Berlin. 260; in Saint Petersburg and Rome, less than 100. In 1890 the rate in Massachusetts was 84, but in Boston it was more than 120; in New York State (1890) it was 95. but 97 in Brooklyn and 150 in Man hattan (New York City).