Sadness and Trembling

116. How Sadness Causes Pallor

Sadness constricts the openings of the heart. This causes the blood to flow more slowly in the veins.

As a result, the blood becomes colder and thicker and requires less space to circulate.

Consequently, it withdraws into the larger veins, which are closer to the heart, leaving the more distant ones.

Since the most visible veins are those of the face, this makes the face appear pale and emaciated, particularly when the sadness is intense or arises suddenly, as in the case of fright, where the shock amplifies the heart-constricting effect.

117. Why One Often Blushes While Being Sad

Often, one does not grow pale when sad but rather blushes instead.

This is due to other passions that combine with sadness, such as love, desire, and sometimes even hatred.

These passions warm or agitate the blood coming from the liver, intestines, and other internal organs. This pushes the blood towards the heart and then through the large artery into the veins of the face.

Sadness constricts the heart’s openings on all sides. It is generally unable to prevent this movement, except when it is extremely intense.

• Sadness easily prevents the blood that has reached the facial veins from falling back to the heart.
• Love, desire, or hatred pushes more blood from the internal organs towards the face.

Thus, this blood makes the face appear redder by being concentrated near the face.

This redness is even more pronounced than during joy because the color of the blood is more visible when it flows less quickly.

Additionally, the blood can accumulate more in the veins of the face when the heart’s openings are more constricted. This is particularly evident in shame, which is composed of self-love and a pressing desire to avoid present disgrace.

These emotions draw blood from the internal organs toward the heart and then through the arteries to the face. Alongside this is a moderate sadness that prevents the blood from returning to the heart.

A similar effect is commonly observed during crying, as I will explain later, because most tears are caused by the combination of love and sadness.

The same phenomenon also occurs in anger, where a sudden desire for vengeance is often mixed with love, hatred, and sadness.

118. Trembling

Trembling has 2 different causes:

1. When too few spirits come from the brain into the nerves

2. When too many spirits flow into them.

This prevents the small passages of the muscles from being properly closed.

Article 11 explaiend that these passages must be closed to determine the movement of the limbs.

The first cause is evident in sadness and fear, as well as when one shivers from cold.

These passions, like the coldness of the air, can thicken the blood to such an extent that it does not provide enough spirits to the brain to send into the nerves.

The second cause is often seen in those who ardently desire something or in those who are highly agitated by anger, as well as in those who are drunk.

Both of these passions, like wine, can sometimes send so many spirits to the brain that they cannot be properly regulated as they pass from the brain into the muscles.