96 LETTERS TO BROTHER JOHN. 



LETTER IV. 



224, Blackfriars Road. 



15th April, 1836. 

 MY DEAR JOHN, 



I AM now to speak to you of certain laws, or cir- 

 cumstances, by which the SENSIBILITY of the body 

 is materially influenced. 



I have elsewhere noticed, that it is by means of 

 the organs of our senses that a proper relation is 

 established between ourselves and the various natu- 

 ral objects with which we are surrounded. It is by 

 means of these that we are able to appreciate the 

 value of these objects, and their power of affecting 

 us, whether injuriously or beneficially. It is by 

 these organs that we are able to discover the means 

 of avoiding whatever is hurtful, and of selecting 

 and securing whatever is necessary to our comfort 

 and well-being. The eye warns us of the approach 

 of danger from before; the ear, from behind; 

 while the senses of smell, taste, and touch, enable 



