Volumes also might be contributed on the allied subjects of the misery and pain, always present with us, and near us, and which but few of us wholly escape contact with, or sharing. In these pages we must be content with a notice of only the most frequent of those troubles.

As before observed, the suicides of eminent men in ancient history were usually brought about by motives more or less honourable, if mistaken, but practically, in our times, the final causes of the act are of a less elevated character.

If we except the case of lunatics under protection, among whom the proportion of suicides is small, from the care with which they are watched, and the case of those in whom insanity bursts forth suddenly, and without any warning, the catalogue of motives given above will be found practically almost complete.

Brierre de Boismont gives the following classification of 4,595 cases which occurred in France, assigning the mental or moral determining causes.

But it is obvious that these tables must be taken cum grano salis, because of the impossibility of discovering in every case the true motive, and because of the coincidence of several causes in many instances.

Kolb, J. F., in his work on the “Condition of Nations,” gives the following Table of Causation in respect to French Suicides; in a recent year, 79 per cent. were males, and 21 per cent. were females.

From a total of 5,922 suicides, 1,794 were caused by mental disorders, 855 domestic troubles, 837 bodily diseases and pain, 701 alcoholism, 688 poverty and misery, 235 violence of the passions, 229 remorse, and fear of the law, and 583 from motives unclassed.

Of 6,782 cases observed by Falret, the following proportions were calculated by him: Caused by misery 1∕7, loss of fortune 1∕21, gambling 1∕43, love affairs 1∕19, domestic troubles 1∕9, fanaticism 1∕66, calumny, wounded self-love, and failed ambition 1∕7, remorse 1∕27.

No attempt on a large scale has ever been made to tabulate English cases, as to causation.