Elizabethan Conceptions of the Physiology of the Circulation
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ELIZABETHAN CONCEPTIONS OF THE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE CIRCULATION By IRVING I. EDGAR, M.D. DETROIT, MICH. Part ii (Conclusion) * Here again, these commentators have Humane Passions” (1621), Thomas misinterpreted a movement of blood Wright’s “The Passions of the Minde in towards the heart as signifying a circu General” (1601), Burton’s “Anatomy lation; and they have placed upon the of Melancholy,” La Primaudaye’s “The word, “labouring,” the significance of French Academy” (1594), Charron’s regular heart-pump action. Nothing “Of Wisdom” (1601), and others—all can be farther from the truth. These crit these readily explain all the passages in ics, apparently unfamiliar with six question upon a Renaissance basis much teenth century physiology-psychology, more satisfactorily than the medical crit have simply superimposed modern con ics do from the modern standpoint. ceptions upon Renaissance doctrines. Thus according to these works, the heart Why, upon the same basis of reasoning, is the center of all the affections and what shall we say of the words of Shake emotions—joy, hope, anger, hate, fear, speare’s contemporary, Philip Mas sorrow, despair, etc. Joy expands the singer? heart enabling it “to concoct a goodly See, see how her blood drives to her heart store of spirits and to disperse them and straight throughout the body.”80 Should this joy, Vaults to her cheek again.79 however, be too strong it may destroy Presto! Take the crown of Harvey and the heart. Grief, sorrow and fear, all of place it not upon the brow of Shake which are present in “a timely parted speare but upon that of Massinger! For ghost” at death, cause blood, spirits and in Massinger’s lines the blood not only the melancholy humour to descend and “drives to” the heart but also “vaults” “muster” to the heart from the periph away from the heart to the cheek! It is eral parts of the body.78 As a result, the much easier to place an interpretation heart labors and languishes, the melan of this type upon these lines than upon choly humor quenching the natural those of Shakespeare. The truth, how heat81 and extinguishing the spirits to ever, is this: neither Shakespeare nor produce death. This mustering of the Massinger, nor any other dramatist of blood to the heart under the emotion of the period knew anything of the circu fear is aptly expressed by Davies: lation of the blood. The physiological- As spiders touched seek their webs’ inmost psychological treatises popular in part, Shakespeare’s day, especially the “Mi As bees in storms into their hives return As blood in danger gathers to the heart.82 crocosmos” of Sir John Davies of Here ford. Nicholas Coeffeteau’s “A Table of La Primaudaye sets forth more clearly * Part 1 appeared in the July, 1936 number of Annals of Medical History, p. 359. the psychology-physiology involved Or if that surly spirit, melancholy here. He is discussing the effect of the Hath bak’d thy blood and made it heavy thick.86 passions upon the heart, particularly that of fear: Dry sorrow drinks our blood. ,87 . first of all it draweth in and shut- In these passages Shakespeare is enun teth up the heart, and so weakeneth the ciating the commonly accepted Eliza same. Whereupon nature being desirous bethan theory that the humor, melan to relieve and succour it, sendeth heate choly, heats and thickens the blood in a unto it from upper parts: and if that be not sufficient, she draweth away that heate literal sense, as a result of the very phys also which is in the neather parts. By ical nature of this humor. La Primau- which doing she suddenly calleth backe daye, describing the humours in the the bloud and spirits unto the heart, and blood, says: “For the muddy dregs, then followeth a generall palenesse and tvhich commonly thicken and settle in colde in all the outward parts and chiefly the bottom of it” (“like to the lees of in the face, with a shivering throughout wine in a vessel”) “are of the nature of the whole body . whereupon it fol the earth and are called Melancholy.” loweth, that by reason of the great beating He goes on to say what Shakespeare here and panting of the heart, the tongue fal- tereth and the voice is interrupted. Yea, says, that this humor thickens the it commeth to pass sometimes that present blood.88 Batman expounds the same death followeth a great and sudden feare, ideas.89 And Christopher Marlowe says because all the bloud retiring to the heart exactly the same thing when he puts choaketh it, and utterly extinguished nat- into the mouth of Faust: “My blood con urale heate and spirits, so that death geals, and I can write no more.”90 musts needs ensue thereof.83 Sorrow concealed, like an oven stopp’d It is obvious that all this de Doth bum the heart to cinders where it is.91 scending, gathering, retiring of the blood to the heart referred to by Shake The tackle of my heart is crack’d and bum’d And all the shrouds wherewith my life should speare has no significance whatsoever as sail far as the circulation of the blood is con Are turned to one thread one little hair cerned as the medical commentators My heart hath one poor string to stay it by, would have us believe. Shakespeare Which holds but till thy news is uttered.92 talked but the language of his day, in the thought-patterns of his age. but his flawed heart, Alack, too weak the conflict to support! From this standpoint, the following ’Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief, passages become simple of explanation: Burst smilingly.93 I have a faint cold fear thrills through my Nor. He is vexed at something. veins, Sur. I would twere something that would fret That almost freezes up the heat of life.84 the string, f Reference here is to the “generall pale The master-cord on’s heart.94 nesse and colde in all the outward parts” as a result of the rush of “bloud and My heart for anger burns; I cannot brook it.95 spirits unto the heart” under the emo My tongue will tell the anger of my heart tion of fear. Or else my heart concealing it will break.96 Seeing too much sadness hath congealed your But break my heart for I must hold my blood.85 tongue.97 . throw my heart And grief’s a natural sickness of the blood.104 Against the flint and hardness of my fault; Which being dried with grief, will break to Shakespeare has many more refer powder.98 ences to the psychological-physiological effects of the emotions on the heart: Here again our great poet is express ing the actual physical effects of The broken rancour of your high-swoln emotion. In the Elizabethen physio hearts, logical-psychological systems, the heart But lately splintered, knit, and join’d to gether.105 expanded and contracted, drawing air from the lungs to cool and fresh itself The execution of my big-swoln heart and expelling “smoking excrements” Upon that Clifford, that cruel child-killer.106 through the same channels, “for the Some devil whisper curses in mine ear heart hath his filaments or small threads And prompt me, that my tongue may utter apt and convenient for that purpose.”99 forth These “filaments” or chordae tendinae The venomous malice of my swelling heart.107 of the heart were believed to “crack” The king, thy sovereign, is not quite exempt, under strong emotion. The psychologist From envious malice of thy swelling heart.108 and contemporary of Shakespeare, Sir Measureless liar, thou hast made my heart John Davies of Hereford, expresses this Too great for what contains it.109 when he says: These passages represent the heart as swelling with the emotion of hate and Worke on my Hart, sterne Griefe, and do thy worst: anger. This is also in accordance with Draw it together till his strings do crack.100 Elizabethan psychology, for as La Pri maudaye teaches,37 the heart swells and James Shirley expresses a similar notion, puffs up when it is enraged and there is only here the emotion is not grief but a a great milling and boiling about it. Re mighty joy: lief for the heart, however, may be ob My heart that call’d my blood and spirits to tained by sighing, sobbing, groaning, Defend it from invasion of my fears etc., even though these consume the Must keep a guard about it still lest this blood. Witness the following: Strange and too mighty joy crush it to noth ing.101 Might liquid tears or heart-offending groans Or blood-consuming sighs recall his life, Christopher Marlowe, similarly, voices I would be blind with weeping, sick with the physical effects of anger upon the groans heart: Look pale as primrose with blood-drinking sighs.110 May never spirit, vein or artier, feed The cursed substance of that cruel heart When my heart, as wedged with a sigh would But wanting moisture and remorseful blood, rive in twain.111 Dry up with anger, and consume with heat!102 Dekker expresses the effects of grief: And stop the rising of blood-sucking sighs.112 It will so overcharge her heart with grief And let my liver rather heat with wine That like a cannon when her sighs go off Than my heart cool with mortifying groans.113 She in her duty either will recoil Or break in pieces and so die.103 Here also, we have an expression of Elizabethan physiological-psychological Chapman does likewise in the follow reactions.