Heart as the seat of emotions

Posted by ESC on March 06, 2003

In Reply to: I kidney you. posted by ESC on March 05, 2003

: : I was wondering how the heart ever got connected to our emotions in phrases like..."from the heart"..."with all my heart"...."broken hearted"
: : After all...it pumps blood...it doesn't think!
: : Any help for me?

: Here's what I've found so far:

: ".At one time moral courage was supposed to reside in the heart, physical courage in the stomach, wisdom in the head, affection in the reins (kidneys), melancholy in the bile and spirit in the blood." From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable revised by Adrian Room (HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, 1999, Sixteenth Edition).

This is about the heart symbol. But I think the answer to your question is in here somewhere:

"Getting closer to the source, the Egyptian ab , or 'heart soul,' apparently bears a remarkable resemblance to the stained glass Christian iconographs. The story of the ab was that one of the Egyptian's seven souls was supposed to come directly from the mother's heart, in the form of holy lunar blood and would descend to the womb and take the shape of her child.

But the most intriguing explanations of the heart's origin, is linked to erotic love and lies within the ruins of a classical city in North Africa. In the 7th century BC, in the city-state of Cyrene, there was a valuable plant called Silphium."
www.heartsmith.com/ heartHistory.html Accessed March 5, 2003.

The Symbol

"The symbol used to represent the heart is known throughout the western world as signifying love or affection. However, other countries have different meanings for this popular sign. Sweden associates the heart symbol with toilets and defecation!

This sign commonly used to represent the heart has actually been around for thousands of years. Have you ever wondered where it came from? The symbol, it turns out, is actually a combination of other ideograms. It incorporates the symbols for fire/flight (from the middle ages) along with its equivalent counterpart from the open sign structures. The heart symbol also incorporates the symbol which represents togetherness. These symbols can all be seen below.

(go to Web site to see symbols)

The heart symbol has a meaning amongst religions as well. Among Christians, it stands for charity and hope. Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Taoists, and Celts see the symbol as having a positive meaning as well. Some signs are commonly associated with the heart symbol. For instance, a heart with an arrow through it represents directed energy, flow, or penetration (a relationship with Cupid, god of love). The combination of the star and heart signs represent happiness or joy.

The heart symbol has so many meanings and has been around for thousands of years, but why has it become such a popular sign? Its popularity most probably stems from the romantic view that early cultures had of the heart. The heart to them was not simply a mechanical pump but the center of all thought and emotion."
library.thinkquest.org/ C003758/home.htm Accessed March 5, 2003.

• Heart as the seat of emotions ESC 03/06/03