Because in thick compacted substances heat is commonly
received and united. And because the heart with its heat should moderate
the coldness of the brain, it is made of that fat flesh apt to keep a
strong heat.
Q. How comes the heart to be the hottest part of all living creatures?
A. It is so compacted as to receive the heat best, and because it should
mitigate the coldness of the brain.
Q. Why is the heart the beginning of life? A. It is plain that in it the
vital spirit is bred, which is the heat of life; and therefore the heart
having two receptacles, viz., the right and the left the right hath more
blood than spirits; which spirit is engendered to give life and vivify
the body.
Q. Why is the heart long and sharp like a pyramid? A. The round figure
hath an angle, therefore the heart is round, for fear any poison or
hurtful matter should be retained in it; and because that figure is
fittest for motion.
Q. How comes the blood chiefly to be in the heart? A. The blood in the
heart has its proper or efficient place, which some attribute to the
liver; and therefore the heart doth not receive blood from any other
parts but all other parts of it.
Q. How happens it that some creatures want a heart? A. Although they
have no heart, yet they have somewhat that answers for it, as appears in
eels and fish that have the back bone instead of the heart.
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