THE BODY TEMPLE 43 



Uses of Muscles.— By means of the muscles that 

 act upon the bones of the legs, we are enabled to walk, 

 run, leap, etc. The muscles of the arms and hands en- 

 able us to work, write, play upon musical instruments, 

 and engage in all sorts of manual pursuits. The mus- 

 cles of the trunk sustain the body erect, and form the 

 walls of cavities which contain the internal organs. 

 Those of the chest are also useful in breathing, in which 

 they act together with a remarkable muscle within the 

 body, called the midriif, or diaphragm. By delicate 

 little muscles, the eye is moved in various directions. 

 Still more delicate muscles adjust the ear to various 

 sounds. It is by the action of the muscles, also, that 

 the face is able to assume such a vast variety of ex- 

 pressions. Anger, scorn, jealousy, grief, and joy are 

 all pictured upon the face by varying movements 

 of the little muscles which lie just underneath the 

 skin. 



Every movement of the body is the result of mus- 

 cular action. Without muscles, a man would be as 

 helpless as a plant or a tree, which spends its whole 

 life just where its seed happened to take root in the 

 soil. The heart, which by its incessant beating sup- 

 plies each part of the body with life-giving blood, is 

 simple a muscle, and even the blood-vessels, which con- 

 vey the blood to the various portions of the body, are 

 scarcely more than muscular tubes. It is by means of 

 muscles, acting upon other organs, that we are able to 

 speak, laugh, and sing, as well as move about. 



The muscles also add to the beautj^ of the body, 

 rounding out the form, covering the ugly protuber- 

 ances of the bones, and giving to the human form that 

 grace and symmetry which beautify it far above all 

 other living forms. How the muscles may be devel- 



