Folio 88v - the nature of man, continued.
is of a prominent, round shape. For this reason the roof of a circular temple is called tolus.
The ankle is under the leg; under the ankle is the heel, calcaneum.
The feet, pedes, have been assigned a name from the Greek. For the Greeks call them podas [poas], meaning that they proceed with alternating footsteps, firmly on the ground.
The sole, planta, gets its name from planities, a flat surface, because they are not rounded, as they are in quadrupeds, lest a two-legged person might not be able to stand on them, but are flat and long in shape, so that they keep the body stable. The sole has a front part which also is made up of many bones.
The heel, calx, at the end of the foot, gets its name from callus, thick skin, with which we tread the earth. Calcaneus, heel, comes from the same root.
The sole is the under part of the foot, so called because with it we imprint our footsteps. Everything which supports something is called solum, as if it were solid, solidus; for this reason the earth is called solum, because it supports everything, and the sole of the foot, solum, because it bears the whole weight of the body.
We use the word viscera not only for intestines, but for anything under the skin, from viscus, the layer between the skin and the flesh. Likewise the word is used of the tips of sinews, which are made from blood combined with nerves.
Again, muscles, lacerti, or mures, exist because there are places in every member of the body like the heart, cor, in the middle part of the whole body; and they are called by names of animals -lacerti, lizards, mures, mice - which like them lie hidden under the ground. Thus the muscle, musculus, is name from its likeness to a mussel, or 'sea-mouse'.
It is also called torus because in areas where there is muscle, the inner parts seem to be twisted, tortus.
The heart, cor, comes either from the Greek word, because they call it cardinan [kardia], or from cura, care, for the heart is the seat of concern and the source of knowledge. For this reason it is near the lung, so that when it is aflame with anger, it can be cooled by the fluid of the lung.
The heart has two arteries, arterie: the left one has more blood; the right, more life-giving spirit. For this reason we see the pulse beating in the left arm. Precordia are places near the heart in which we perceive feeling. They are so called because
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Commentary
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Isidore on the ankles, feet, muscles and heart.
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Transcription
eminens rotunditas. Unde et fastigium templi rotundi\ tolus vocatur. Talus autem sub crure est sub talo calcanei.\ Pedes ex Greca ethimologia nomen sortiti sunt. Hos enim\ Greci podas dicunt, qui alternis motibus solo fixi incedunt.\ Plante a planicie nuncupate, quia non sunt rotunde ut\ in quadrupedis ne stare non possit bipes homo, sed plane\ atque longiores formate sunt, ut stabile corpus efficerent. Sunt\ autem plante anteriores partes que etiam de multis ossibus\ constant. Calcis prima pars plante a callo illi nomen impo\situm quo terram calcamus. Hinc et calcaneus. Solum inferi\ or pars pedis dictum quia eo vestigia terre imprimimus. Sed et\ solum dicitur omne quod aliquid sustinet quasi solidum, unde\ et solum terra quod cuncta sustineat, et solum pedis, quod\ totam molem corporis portat. Viscera non tantum intestina\ dicimus, sed quicquid sub corio est a visco quod est inter cutem\ et carnem. Item viscera capita nervorum ex sanguine et ner\vis copulata. Item lacerti sive mures quia sic in singulis mem\bris corporis loca sunt ut cor in media tocius corporis parte\ appellanturque a nomine similium animalium sub terra\ delitescentium. Nam inde musculi a murium similitudine.\ Idem etiam tori quod illic viscera torta videantur. Cor a Greca\ appellatione dirivatum, quod illi cardinan dicunt, sive\ a cura, in eo enim omnis sollicitudo et scientie causa manet.\ Quod ideo pulmoni vicinius est, ut cum ira accenditur, pul\monis humore temperatur. Huius due arterie sunt, e quibus\ sinistra plus sanguinem habet, dextera plus spiritum. Unde et in\ dextro brachio pulsum inspicimus. Precordia sunt loca cor\dis vicina quibus sensus perspicitur. Et dicta precordia eo quod\Translation
is of a prominent, round shape. For this reason the roof of a circular temple is called tolus. The ankle is under the leg; under the ankle is the heel, calcaneum. The feet, pedes, have been assigned a name from the Greek. For the Greeks call them podas [poas], meaning that they proceed with alternating footsteps, firmly on the ground. The sole, planta, gets its name from planities, a flat surface, because they are not rounded, as they are in quadrupeds, lest a two-legged person might not be able to stand on them, but are flat and long in shape, so that they keep the body stable. The sole has a front part which also is made up of many bones. The heel, calx, at the end of the foot, gets its name from callus, thick skin, with which we tread the earth. Calcaneus, heel, comes from the same root. The sole is the under part of the foot, so called because with it we imprint our footsteps. Everything which supports something is called solum, as if it were solid, solidus; for this reason the earth is called solum, because it supports everything, and the sole of the foot, solum, because it bears the whole weight of the body. We use the word viscera not only for intestines, but for anything under the skin, from viscus, the layer between the skin and the flesh. Likewise the word is used of the tips of sinews, which are made from blood combined with nerves. Again, muscles, lacerti, or mures, exist because there are places in every member of the body like the heart, cor, in the middle part of the whole body; and they are called by names of animals -lacerti, lizards, mures, mice - which like them lie hidden under the ground. Thus the muscle, musculus, is name from its likeness to a mussel, or 'sea-mouse'. It is also called torus because in areas where there is muscle, the inner parts seem to be twisted, tortus. The heart, cor, comes either from the Greek word, because they call it cardinan [kardia], or from cura, care, for the heart is the seat of concern and the source of knowledge. For this reason it is near the lung, so that when it is aflame with anger, it can be cooled by the fluid of the lung. The heart has two arteries, arterie: the left one has more blood; the right, more life-giving spirit. For this reason we see the pulse beating in the left arm. Precordia are places near the heart in which we perceive feeling. They are so called because
