The History of Monsters. 258

...the sickness is called lethal when the crime lies hidden in the conscience, just as happens to those sinners who do not reveal their sins through confession. But the spiritual physician—namely, the Confessor—promises a great hope for the sinner when he observes the crime has been made manifest. For we read in the Book of Proverbs: "He who confesses his sins shall obtain mercy."

If we turn our attention to the ailments of the lungs, we find that this organ sometimes suffers from an ulcer provoked by sharp humors sliding down from the head to the chest, which renders it unfit to take in air. The same occurs when the sharp humors of wealth are cast down into the "lungs" of our affections; such a stain is contracted that, thereafter, the air of grace and piety cannot be received. Furthermore, breathing is hindered in many ways: sometimes by a tumor blocking the passages of the lungs, sometimes by inflammation, and finally by the corruption of the parts, which subsequently infects the inhaled air. Breathing can represent the speech that comes from the mouth, which is sometimes troubled by the tumor of pride or the inflammation of greed—as we read in the Gospel of John: "He who is of the earth speaks of the earth." Finally, speech can be corrupted by parts tainted by excessive luxury, and such foul talk undoubtedly infects those who hear it. As the Apostle wrote to the Corinthians: "Evil conversations corrupt good morals."

When the stomach suffers from poor health, it is afflicted by indigestion, vomiting, hiccups, belching, or flux. Human speech is represented by the stomach and incurs various moral conditions. First, it is tormented by the indigestion of insolence, then the vomiting of boasting, the hiccups of envy, the belching of cursing, and the flux of dishonest pleasure. Unless, perhaps, we choose to interpret vomiting as a purifying confession, which scours the stomach of the conscience, aids in the digestion of morals, and finally frees people from the sickness of sin. Sometimes, when the "mouth" of the stomach is damaged, a sudden collapse of strength occurs, which doctors call syncope; at that moment, the patient's movement and senses are cut off. In this context, syncope is a symbol of sin, for when a person is seized by it, the life of grace is intercepted, and the movement of good works is restrained.

The belly is sometimes distended by excessive fullness, a condition relieved by evacuation; at other times, it suffers from emptiness and is cured by being filled. By "the belly," the mind is to be understood, which—in the manner of the abdomen—contains the heart of intelligence, the liver of affection, and the gall of wrath. Since the mind is very often filled with vices and riches, it must be evacuated: through confession in the case of vices, and through almsgiving in the case of riches. Conversely, when it suffers from an emptiness of virtues and knowledge, it must be filled with the teachings of faith and science.

The kidneys also suffer from stones when viscous and tenacious matter is glued into pebbles by immoderate heat. The voluntary affections of humans are attributed to the kidneys, which overflow with the viscous and sticky humors of riches and delights. Thus, the immoderate heat of concupiscence generates the stone of obstinacy and glues worldly affections together through wicked habit.

Doctors declare the intestines to be liable to many diseases. They may be distended, and when their unity is dissolved, pain is generated; sometimes they are so dried out that waste cannot be expelled; at other times, they are afflicted by unnatural tumors, as well as by diarrhea and griping pains. The intestines represent the affections of the human mind, which are stretched by envy and so dried out by greed that no righteous action emerges from them. Occasionally, they are stimulated by the tumor of pride, dissolved into the flux of luxury by intemperate desire, and finally seized by the griping pains of wrath and cruelty. We find this condition in Proverbs: "The bowels of the wicked are cruel." Furthermore, the intestines are troubled by three main types of abdominal flux. The first is a simple flux called diarrhea; the second is lientery, when undigested food is passed; the third is called dysentery, when blood is passed along with the scraping of the intestines. Through these three types of flux, we must explain three moral outpourings—namely, in speaking, hearing, and acting. The flux of words represents simple diarrhea, since some youths are indeed dissolute in their speech, yet they still shrink from dishonest habits and the "blood" of lethal crime. The flux of hearing emulates lientery, as some are so negligent in listening that they retain not even a little of the Word of God. Finally, the flux of action refers to dysentery, because with the blood of le