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Quotation from Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

“For what is the Heart, but a Spring; and the Nerves, but so many Strings; and the Joynts, but so many Wheeles, giving motion to the whole Body”

Thomas Hobbes

Leviathan, Introduction (1651 text (original spelling))

Portrait of Thomas Hobbes

Hobbes describes the human body in the language of clockwork, reflecting the mechanical physiology of Harvey's and Descartes's generation.

Citation: "For what is the Heart, but a Spring; and the Nerves, but so many Strings; and the Joynts, but so many Wheeles, giving motion to the whole Body" — Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Introduction (1651 text (original spelling)). (id leviathan-q2)

Portrait: Thomas Hobbes (copy after an original of c.1669–1670), John Michael Wright, Public domain.

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Quote card: For what is the Heart, but a Spring; and the Nerves, but so many Strings; and th