XXXVI. 



Spleen* 



WHO was it, of old, that first gave vent to the expres- 

 sion " a fit of the spleen " ? And to whom, one may 

 ask, are we indebted for the pleasing illusion that 

 this harmless organ is a kind of cistern of all the 

 vile humours which do congregate within the body's 

 domain ? Wordsworth, kindliest if also the moodiest 

 of poets at times, speaks of the self-disparagement 

 which " affords to meditative spleen a grateful feast." 

 Pope's words, " parent of vapours and of female wit, 

 who give th' hysteric or poetic fit," and his assertion 

 that " The spleen is seldom felt where Flora reigns," 

 evidently indicate a mixed opinion regarding this cele- 

 brated organ. More direct in his impeachment of the 

 spleen is Green, who in his poem of that name advises 

 us that " to cure the mind's wrong bias, spleen," we 

 have to " fling but a stone," and " the giant dies." 



The classic naturalists and physicians entertained 

 curious ideas concerning this organ. To them it was 

 certainly a vital puzzle. It did not seem to manu- 

 facture anything, as did the liver, and out of it there 

 was no duct or pathway leading to the digestive 

 system. Erasistratus, coming to the end of his intel- 

 lectual tether in the matter, declared that the spleen 

 had only the function of bodily "packing," in that it 



