Ghazzali's Alchemy of Happiness, 



67 



dignity of the heart of man. The subject could not be dis- 

 cussed more at large in this short treatise. 



While the heart is one of the pillars of man, the body is 

 another pillar. In the constitution of man's body, there is 

 an infinity of most wonderful things to be observed. Each 

 internal and external organ has various curious uses, of 

 which man is entirely uninformed. Know, that in the body 

 of a man there are thousands of veins and nerves : there are 

 many bones, each of a particular shape and each one cre- 

 ated for a particular purpose and effect. You are ignorant 

 of all this, and you only know that the hand was formed 

 to take hold with, the foot to walk with, and the tongue to 

 speak with. But in reference to the hand, you know noth- 

 ing about its blood, its bones, the number of its nerves and 

 veins, and the uses of each one : nor in reference to 

 the eye, do you know that it is composed of ten layers, nor 

 of what the layers are composed, nor what is the use of 

 them. And if the eye should meet with an injury in one 

 of the layers, you could not tell the cause of it. You know 

 nothing either of the internal organs in the belly, such as 

 the spleen, the liver, the gall-bladder and the kidneys. 

 While these have been given to you to perform functions 

 in which they are continually engaged, you are entirely 

 unconcerned about it. 



Know then, beloved, that the varieties of food you eat 

 descend to the stomach, and thence to the liver, and that in 

 the liver they are mixed and brought to the form of blood. 

 Upon the liver may be seen something black and frothy 

 which is called black bile. The spleen attracts the black 

 bile and changes it into itself. The blood being still mixed 

 with water, has no consistence, and the kidneys draw tho 

 water from the blood and purify it. This blood is then 

 diffused to the seven parts of the body, and brings and con- 

 veys strength to the limbs. If the spleen become affected 

 with any disorder, so that it cannot separate the black bile 



