TJic Senses. 59 



know that there is nothing in our bodies that can- 

 not be found in every spadeful of garden soil. If 

 the Bible declares that the first man was made of 

 the dust of the earth, science declares that all living 

 men are fashioned of the same material. Having 

 this knowledge, we are prepared to present certain 

 considerations in regard to our bodies, showing their 

 adaptation to the world in which we live. And for 

 the present we slut'l regard man simply as a physi- 

 cal being, reserving for some future lecture the 

 mutual adaptation of the world and the higher 

 nature of man. And we care nothing now about 

 geolo-ic development theories. We take the fact 

 of our own existence as it is, and inquire in re- 

 gard to our present relations. Our physical good 

 demands that we should have the power of compre- 

 hending the world in all the respects in which it is 

 possible for matter or its forces to affect our bodies. 

 The senses completely meet this want. And we 

 wish now to consider the senses simply as a means 

 of establishing relations with the external world. 

 We are too apt to confine ourselves to the mere 

 mechanism of the eye or ear, without considering 

 how the senses supplement each other, and without 

 considering the provision made in the world that it 

 may be a fit place for the exercise of the senses. 

 The eye would be useless without all the properties 

 of light ; the ear would have no power in a world 

 without an atmosphere. Sight enables us to avoid 

 danger, and seek distant needful objects. What a 

 vast length of time and wearisome labor would it 



