St. Augustine, Of the citie of God vvith the learned comments of Io. Lod. Viues. Englished by I.H.

Of such as chose a voluntary death, to auoyde the feare of paine and dishonour. CHAP. 16.

FOR if it bee not lawfull for a priuate man to kill any man, how euer guil∣tie, vnlesse the lawe haue granted a speciall allowance for it, then surely whosoeuer killes himselfe is guiltie of homicide: And so much the more guil∣tie doth that killing of himselfe make himselfe, by how much the more guilt∣lesse hee was in that cause for which hee killd himselfe. For if Iudas (a) his fact be worthily detested, and yet the Truth (b) saith, that by hanging of * 1.1 himselfe, hee did rather augment then expiate the guilt of his wicked trea∣cherie, because his despaire of Gods mercy in his (c) damnable repen∣tance, left no place in his soule for sauing repentance; how much more ought he to forbeare from being cause of his owne death, that hath no guilt in him worthy of such a punishment as death: for Iudas in hanging himselfe, hanged but a wicked man and dyed guiltie, not onely of Christs death, but

of his owne also: adding the wickednesse of being his owne death, to that o∣ther wickednesse of his, for which he dyed.

L. VIVES.

IUdas (a) his fact] which no man but hath heard out of the Gospell. (b) Truth saith] Peter in the first of the Actes affirmes, that hee did wickedly and vngodlyly both in be∣traying of his Lord, and in hanging of himselfe. (c) Damnable repentance] For he repen∣ted indeed, but so, as hee despaired of being euer able to repent sufficiently for so great a villanie.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Math. 27.