16 LETTERS TO BROTHER JOHN. 



neither shun it, nor resist it. What he still wants, 

 then, to secure him in his existence, are, weapons of 

 offence and defence. 



Here, then, is a new difficulty. How is it to be 

 overcome ? Man was originally designed, not only 

 not to become the prey of the rest of the animal 

 creation, but to hold every other animal under his 

 own dominion within his own power under his 

 own controul, and at his own service. Nothing 

 short of Omnipotence could effect it; and I know of 

 no better proof of the divine origin of man, than 

 the solution of the following problem; man and 

 the beast of prey being given, to give to the weaker 

 dominion over the stronger. How beautifully, 

 perfectly, yet simply, has the Almighty Ruler 

 surmounted this difficulty. Man SPEAKS ! and 

 the problem is solved. By virtue of that mira- 

 culous little system of organs the organs of 

 speech what an immeasurable distance is, at one 

 instant, interposed between the reasoning powers 

 of the brute and his own ! These enable him to 

 add to the stock of knowledge resulting from his 

 own experience, the whole stock acquired by the 

 experience of his fellow-man. Thus he obtains 

 innumerable ideas, which could never have been 

 collected by the senses of one individual. These 



