When mummifying their kings and queens, ancient Egyptians would remove the brain and all the internal（内的） organs（器官） except for one, the heart. Believing it held all thought and feeling, the deceased would need it in the afterlife（来世） when they "throws again." By 2000 BC, Chinese doctors had uncovered the heart's role in pumping（用抽机抽） blood throughout the body, while Western figures from Aristotle to the Renaissance（复兴） believed that the heart governed（统治） the emotions, a notion（想法） so powerful that it still persists（坚持） today in a different form. The heart's symbols resemblance（类同之处） to the real thing is debatable（ 未决定的）. Its origins（起源） are uncertain, but we see it as far back as the 6th century BC. Coins from Cyrene and what is now Libya carry the familiar emblem（象征）, representing Silphium, a now extinct plant used as a cooking spice（香料）, perfume, aphrodisiac, and contraceptive.

  In the 17th century, Saint（圣人） Mary Margaret Alacoc reported seeing a vision（视） of the Sacred（神的） Heart of Jesus surrounded by thorns, and the symbol has been associated（交往） with love and devotion ever since. Today we know that love, along with all of our thoughts, desires（相望）, and emotions, comes from our brain, not our chest.