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Suicide may , of course , be a selfish and a cowardly thing , but the instinct of self-preservation is so strong that a man must always manifest a certain courage in making such a decision . The sacrifice of one 's own life is not necessarily and absolutely an immoral thing , because it is always held to be justified if one 's motive is to save another . It is purely , I believe , a question of motive ; whatever poor Dick 's motives were , it was certainly the kindest and bravest thing that he could do ; and I look upon his life as having been as naturally ended as if he had died of disease or by an accident . There is not a single one of his friends who would not have been thankful if he had died in the course of nature ; and I for one am even more thankful as it is , because it seems to me that his act testifies to some tenderness , some consideration for others , as well as to a degree of resolution with which I had not credited him . Of course such a thing deepens the mystery of the world ; but such an act as this is not to me half as mysterious as the action of an omnipotent Power which allowed so bright and gracious a creature as Dick was long ago to drift into ugly , sordid , and irreparable misery . Yet it seems to me now that Dick has at last trusted God completely , made the last surrender , and put his miserable case in the Father 's hands . December 2 , 1888 .