# History of Monsters, 245

Next are the fingers, extending from the hand and composed of three bones; they are straight, slender, flexible, and tipped with nails. If the hand represents the Church, its fingers are the faithful—specifically those dedicated to God in religious orders. They are said to consist of three bones because they venerate the Most Holy Trinity; thus, the Church might proclaim that line from the Song of Solomon: "My fingers are covered with the finest myrrh." Moreover, such fingers are straight with justice, flexible in giving alms, and finally armed with nails so that, when the occasion arises, they may exercise a necessary severity within the Church. Again, the Church could speak the words of the Psalmist: "Blessed be the Lord, who trains my hands for battle and my fingers for war." Furthermore, observers note a unique quality of the fingers: they appear thicker before a meal and more slender after eating. Just men imitate this nature: before the "meal" of divine grace, they may be swollen with the pride of their benefits, but afterward, they become slender through great humility of soul.

We must then consider the stomach, which receives any kind of nourishment and, once digested, distributes it—both the pure nutrients and the waste—to the various parts of the body for nourishment, though the waste is expelled through the lower parts. In moral teaching, the perfect man emulates the stomach: he receives the "food" of any doctrine and sends it to refresh the powers of the soul, retaining only what is pure and immediately expelling what is impure.

The liver is an organ naturally warm in temperature, red with heat, and located in the right hypochondrium. Through this principal organ, we should understand the human mind, which must be warm with piety, red with the memory of Christ's blood, and situated on the right side as it meditates on the hope of eternal life. Furthermore, the liver is large in humans to suggest a powerful capacity for charity. Finally, the liver occupies a lower position relative to the heart so that it may draw heat from it as from a more vital part. In the same way, the warmth and charity of the "heart"—namely of Prelates, Princes, and Rulers—should temper the coldness of the "liver," which represents their subjects. Indeed, if the subjects grow cold through a lack of virtue, they ought to be warmed by the exemplary heat of their superiors, according to the common saying: *The whole world is shaped by the example of the King.*

Hidden within the cavity of the liver is the gall, which cuts through and cleanses humors with its sharpness; for this reason, physicians use it in eye-salves. Here, the gall represents bitter penance, which cuts away and wipes clean the humors of sinners. For this reason, just men delivering a sermon to the people use the gall of the Saints' penitence in the "eye-salves" of their speeches and precepts, so as to cleanse the eyes of the listeners' minds.

The spleen, located in the left hypochondrium, is said to be the source of laughter, yet it is also the receptacle of melancholy, which typically generates constant sadness. The spleen is a symbol of worldly prosperity, which makes men cheerful in the present life even though it carries the cause of eternal sorrow within itself. This is further supported by medical observation: when the spleen swells and grows, the body wastes away; conversely, when the spleen shrinks, the body grows fat and increases. In the same way, when the "spleen" of pleasures grows excessively, human virtues diminish; on the other hand, when worldly happiness is diminished, virtues in a person increase in a marvelous way. Therefore, we can rightly repeat what is found in Proverbs: "Lord, give me neither poverty nor riches, but provide me only with the necessities of life."

Next follow the kidneys and the bladder. The kidneys are primarily parts that lack fat themselves, yet they are always enveloped in it. The wealthy ought to mirror this condition: though they are "buried" in the fat of riches, they should remain detached from any personal affection for them. The kidneys are filled with intense heat, by which they draw in superfluous moisture and drive it out of the body. The "kidneys" of the Church are represented by just men who, in the body of the Church Militant, perform wonders through the fervor of fiery charity. Indeed, these men liberate the faithful by purging them of the superfluities of vice. Furthermore, the kidneys are established as the seat of venereal pleasure, since the seed of generation is said to originate from them; hence it is no wonder they are cast as symbols of ruinous lust. For this reason, in the book of Exodus, the Priests wore a veil from the kidneys to the thighs, so that re-