Another curious form of belief was prevalent among some persons, that
the body of a suicide would not decay until the time arrived when, in
the ordinary course of nature, he would have died. This was founded upon
another belief, that there is a day of death appointed for every man,
which no one can pass; but as man is possessed of a free will, he may,
by his own wicked determination, shorten the union of his soul and body,
but that there his power ends: he cannot in reality kill either soul or
body, for were he to possess this power, he would possess the power to
alter the decrees of God, which is a power impossible for man to
possess. This was a mad, not deep, sort of metaphysics; but there was
sufficient method in its madness to cause it to gain the suffrages of a
large number of people. It was affirmed that those who had examined into
the matter had found that the bodies of suicides were mysteriously
preserved from decomposition until the day arrived on which they would
naturally--that is, according to God's decree--have died.
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