The Sublime Engine: A Biography of the Human Heart - Softcover

Amidon, Stephen; Amidon M.D., Thomas

 
9781609613792: The Sublime Engine: A Biography of the Human Heart
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1609613791 ISBN 13: 9781609613792
Verlag: Rodale Books, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

The heart has consistently captured the human imagination. It has been singled out as a cultural icon, the repository of our deepest religious and artistic impulses, the organ whose steady functioning is understood, both literally and symbolically, as the very life force itself. The Sublime Engine will explore the profound sense of awe every person feels when they ponder the miracle encased within their ribs.

In this lyrical history of our most essential organ, a critically-acclaimed novelist and a leading cardiologist--who happen to be brothers--draw upon history, science, religion, popular culture, and literature to illuminate all of the heart's physical and figurative chambers. Each of the four sections-- The Ancient Heart, The Renaissance Heart, The Modern Heart, and The Future Heart--will focus on a major epoch in our understanding of the heart and the hidden history of cardiology. Erudite, witty, and enthralling, The Sublime Engine makes the heart come alive for readers.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Stephen Amidon is the author of six novels, including The New City and Human Capital. His fiction has been published in fifteen countries, and he is a regular contributor of essays and criticism to newspapers and magazines in the United States and Great Britain.

Tom Amidon, MD is a cardiologist in Bellevue, Washington, Cardiology Section Chief at Overlake Hospital in Seattle, a clinical instructor at Washington University, author of dozens of articles and co-author of the cardiology chapter in the top-selling medical textbook.

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CHAPTER 1

Ancient Heart

The Island of Kos, Greece, 399 BC

He does not want to die. He is not ready. He still wants to breathe the sea air as he arrives at the port each morning and drink wine after a long day's work. He wants to sleep with his wife for many more nights and watch his son become a man.

But Nikias can feel death coming. He cannot walk more than a short distance without needing to stop to catch his breath. On some days it feels as if a massive slab of marble has been laid across his ribs. There is also pain in his arm and neck now. And then, two days ago, while helping to unload a shipment of ivory, he blacked out. If his son had not been there to catch him, he would have plunged right into the Aegean.

It makes him feel old. Granted, he is thirty-nine, and his father and grandfather were dead by this age, both felled by lightning in their chests. But he has always believed that he would outlive them by many more years than this. He will never forget the moment his father died--the way that powerful man gasped for air as he tore at his chest; the panic in his eyes, replaced at the end by a look of terrible emptiness. And then he was gone forever.

After his own collapse, Nikias knew he needed to get help. At his wife's urging, he went to the local doctor. But the old fool had said there was nothing to be done, that his fate was in the hands of the gods. There are other healers nearby, root cutters and magicians and soothsayers, but Nikias has even less faith in them.

Which leaves the temple of Asklepios, the healing god. People speak of the miracles that happen there. But who has time to visit a temple? Nikias's business might be thriving, but that is only because he is always there. Every day seems to bring a new crisis. The pressure on him is immense. And yet something must be done, or else he will soon be joining his father and his grandfather. In the quietest hour of the night, when everyone else is asleep, he can feel the blackness creeping over him.

So he decides to go. The temple is close enough to walk to under normal circumstances, but his weakness means that he must travel by oxcart. His son takes him. It is midday when the temple comes into view, situated on a cypress-strewn hill overlooking the sea. He has seen it before, but only in glimpses. It is larger than he recalls. Its marble glistens majestically in the spring sunlight. His son stops the cart at the bottom of the steep steps leading up to the temple's high wall. A year ago Nikias would have bolted up this hill, but now he must grip the boy's strong arm. By the time he nears the top, he is gasping for air. Sweat coats his skin; his chest has never felt tighter. He feels death within him, spreading through his muscles and bones.

After they knock on the heavy wooden door, Nikias notices a ramshackle encampment that abuts the wall. It is populated by beggars and cripples. A few hobble about on crutches; most sprawl on filthy blankets. A corpse, partially covered with sticks and hay, lies in the nearby weeds. A haggard woman cries over it, switching a cypress branch in a futile attempt to keep flies away.

The breeze shifts and Nikias can smell the stench. He cannot tear his eyes away from the body.

And then he realizes that a man is watching him from the encampment. He appears to be Nikias's age. He is different from the others. His clothes are clean; his beard is neatly trimmed. He is in good health; he is certainly no beggar. There is confidence and intelligence in his eyes. An oddly shaped bronze cup hangs from his belt, along with other instruments whose purpose Nikias cannot fathom. The man's scrutiny of Nikias is intense; he looks as if he has something urgent to say. Nikias is tempted to speak with him, but just then the door opens.

It is a goatish old man dressed in a himation, the long embroidered cloak of a senior priest, who stands before him. Still a little breathless, Nikias tells him why he has come. The priest nods sympathetically, then tells Nikias what offering will be required to gain entry. The price is steeper than those steps. But he needs to be cured, so he pays.

After telling Nikias's son to return in two days, the priest ushers the merchant through the gate. The temple grounds cover several terraced acres. As he leads Nikias along a shaded path toward the main temple, the priest describes what will happen. First Nikias will be cleansed with holy water. Then the two of them will make a sacrifice to Asklepios. After this they will pray to the god himself. Finally, Nikias will be led to the place where he will spend the night. If he is blessed, the god will speak to him in his sleep.

Nikias is tempted to ask when he will actually be cured, but he decides to remain quiet for now. They draw near the temple. Its colonnade is made of the highest-quality marble. Healing must be a good business, the merchant thinks. There are also numerous outbuildings. Animals, priests, and visitors gather on the temple steps or wander the shaded pathways. Some of the visitors appear to be seriously ill, though every one of them is attended by priests or slaves. There are no dead bodies in the weeds here.

The priest and Nikias stop first at a small wooden hut that contains a sacred well. A man, another visitor, emerges just as they arrive. He is dressed in a brilliant white robe. His wet hair glistens in the sun; his expression is serene. Nikias is heartened--perhaps there is something to this temple business after all. The priest chants a ritual prayer as they step inside. Flickering lanterns light the hut. The smell of incense is overpowering. Two slaves greet them. As one draws well water, the second takes Nikias's clothes.

That is when he sees the snakes. The room is full of them--writhing, coiled, tongues flicking lazily. The merchant's chest starts to hammer; his throat tightens as if a great fist is clenching it. He hates snakes. He has seen what happens when they strike from amid cargo. He backs toward the door, but the old priest stops him. There is nothing to fear, he claims; the snakes are harmless. They not only keep demons out of the water, their bites can also cure. Nikias agrees to stay, though he secretly resolves that he will leap into that well before he lets himself be bitten.

After Nikias is washed and then dressed in a pure white robe, the priest leads him to a massive stone plinth just outside the temple's main entrance. The altar is adorned with friezes of the gods and inlaid with gold medallions. Bleached animal skulls are scattered around it. Other priests and slaves await them. The priests chant incantations as the slaves lift a bound, writhing goat onto a bloodstained slab beside the altar's smoldering fire. Moving with a butcher's skill, one of the priests slits the creature's throat with a large knife, then expertly dismembers the quivering beast, tossing its thighs and flesh onto the altar fire. They crackle and hiss. The priests whisper among themselves as they examine the steaming entrails.

No one bothers to tell Nikias what has been divined. He is led to the temple, where he is confronted by the great ivory figure of Asklepios staring down from a majestic golden throne. The god is powerfully built, with broad shoulders and a mighty beard. In one hand he grips a staff entwined with snakes. The other rests on the head of a golden dog. Terra- cotta objects surround him, each depicting a body part. Nikias sees an ear, a hand, an eye, a penis. The old priest explains that these are gifts from former penitents, commemorating the healed parts of their bodies. He then commands Nikias to touch the statue to receive the god's healing power. The ivory ankle is cold and lifeless. And the pain and heaviness are still in his chest.

The priest takes him from the temple toward a long, low building. A shocking sight greets...

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Verlag
Rodale Books
Erscheinungsdatum
2012
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
1609613791
ISBN 13 
9781609613792
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
256
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Rodale
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/imprints/A6/rodale-books/books

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