Conjugial Love (Rogers) n. 210

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210. (1) The special sense of conjugial love is the sense of touch. Every love has its own special sense. The love of seeing, arising from a love of understanding, has the sense of sight; and the things that give it pleasure are symmetries and qualities of beauty. The love of hearing, arising from a love of listening and complying, has the sense of hearing; and the things that give it pleasure are harmonies. The love of identifying odors floating about in the air, arising from a love of perceiving, has the sense of smell; and the things that give it pleasure are fragrances. The love of nourishing oneself, arising from a love of filling oneself with good qualities and truths, has the sense of taste; and the things that give it pleasure are fine foods. The love of identifying objects, arising from a love of looking out and protecting oneself, has the sense of touch; and the things that give it pleasure are sensations that tickle and tingle. The love of joining oneself with one's partner, arising from a love of uniting goodness and truth, also has the sense of touch, and that is because this sense is the common one of all the senses and so draws contributions from the rest. People know that this love brings all the aforementioned senses into confederation with it and appropriates their pleasures to itself. The fact that the sense of touch is dedicated to conjugial love and is special to it is apparent from its every sport, and from the exaltation of its subtle sensations to the most highly exquisite. But to extend this discussion further is left to lovers.


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