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1 Suicide 

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1.1 Approach by Diogenes

Diogenes would constantly say that to manage our lives properly, we need either reason or a rope. (Diogenes - Oxford p. 31)

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1.2 For the foolish life is a good thing

Hegesias of Cyrene (Death persuader); he said friendship nor gratitude exist (...) a person who has need of things offers gratitude (...) for the foolish, life is a good thing, while for the sage, death is, for which reason some have called him the death-persuader. (Diogenes - Oxford p. 151)

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1.3 Pleasure cannot prevail

Hegesias - direst pessimism; concluding that a predominance of pleasure cannot generally be assured, he came to believe that suicide can often be the best option in life, and so came to be known as “death persuader” (Diogenes - Oxford p. xxiv)

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1.4 The Book

He portrayed the evils of life in such a vivid manner that, once he had introduced such miserable ideas of the human (...) he inspired many of them with the desire to seek voluntary death. (Diogenes - Oxford p. 151)

The book of Hegesias that I refer to is called The man who starved himself to death; it tells how a man set out to starve himself to death, and when his friends tried to restrain him, he responded by enumerating all the miseries of human life. (Diogenes - Oxford p. 151)

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2 Suicide in Drama

During the course of my life, I have wished innumerable times that I might meet with a violent death, but I have never once desired to kill anybody. I thought that in killing a dreaded adversaty I might actually be bringing him happiness. (No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai. p.45)

Unable to suppress such reactions of annoyance, I escaped. I escaped, but it gave me no pleasure: I decided to kill myself. (No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai. p.73)

I was sure that to stay any longer would be useless and dangerous. Then I came out with that crazy pronouncement on “ love flying out the window,” which was later to produce unexpected complications. (No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai. p.81)

I was still unable to persuade myself fully of the reality of this resolution to die. Somehow there lurked an element of make-believe. (No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai. p.86)

This was a  humiliation more strange than any I had tasted before, a humiliation I could not live with. I suppose I had still not managed to extricate myself from the part of the rich man’s son. It was then I myself determined, this time as a reality, to kill myself. (No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai. p.87)

We threw ourselves into the sea at Kamakura that night. (...) She died. I survived. (No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai. p.87)

I was leading the life of a half-wit, and I had quite lost even the energy to think of suicide. (No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai. p.98)

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2.1 On the reaction of suicide

My father and all the rest of my family were so enranged that I might easily be disowned once and for all. (No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai. p.88)

Long letter (...) each one beginning with the incredible words, “Please live on for me”. (No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai. p.88)

When they tied me up as a criminal I actually felt relieved - a calm, relaxed feeling. (No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai. p.92)

“Did you cry?”

“No. I didn’t cry... I just kept thinking that when human beings get that way, they’re no good for anything.”

(No Longer Human - Osamu Dazai. p.176)

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