_Of the Tongue._
Q. Why is the tongue full of pores? A. Because the tongue is the means
whereby which we taste; and through the mouth, in the pores of the
tongue, doth proceed the sense of tasting. Again, it is observed, that
frothy spittle is sent into the mouth by the tongue from the lungs,
moistening the meat and making it ready for digestion.
Q. Why do the tongues of such as are sick of agues judge all things
bitter? A. Because the stomachs of such persons are filled with
choleric humours; and choler is very bitter, as appeareth by the gall;
therefore this bitter fume doth infect their tongues; and so the tongue,
being full of these tastes, doth judge everything bitter.
Q. Why doth the tongue water when we hear sour and sharp things spoken
of? A. Because the imaginative virtue or power is of greater force than
the power or faculty of tasting; and when we imagine a taste, we
conceive the power of tasting as a swan; there is nothing felt by the
taste, but by means of the spittle the tongue doth water.
Q. Why do some persons stammer and lisp? A. Sometimes through the
moistness of the tongue and brain, as in children, who cannot speak
plainly nor pronounce many letters. Sometimes it happeneth by reason of
the shrinking of certain sinews which go to the tongue, which are
corrupted with phlegm.
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