Nero, however, did not know this, and at the news brought by the courier, he prepared himself for suicide, pacing up and down muttering "Qualis artifex pereo" which translates to English as "What an artist dies in me".
Some groups have embraced suicide to keep pace with rival outfits, with whom they are competing for recruits and support.
The debate around assisted suicide has gained pace in the UK after it was reported that an 86-year-old grandmother starved herself to death because she said that British law left her with "no alternative".
The pace of suicides by soldiers in 2008 could eclipse last year's.
He has had such difficulty sleeping that he has been awake for as many as 50 hours at a time, according to court records, which also describe him as being on suicide watch and as pacing in his cell so much his legs have swelled.
The night before his suicide, he was just pacing back and forth in the house.
The report said suicide attacks are on a pace to exceed the record 123 bombings carried out in 2006.
At least 125 committed suicide through August of this year, an awful pace that if continued would surpass last year's all-time high of 162.
