flesh

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An anecdote from the material culture of the late twentieth century may serve to introduce the layers of meaning associated with flesh; its epistemological, moral, and biological implications.

From the 1960s the manufacturers of Crayola crayons included in their colour range a tone called ‘flesh’, a salmon-pink which was intended to approximate the skin tone of Caucasians. In recent years, the heightened sensitivity, particularly in North America, to politically incorrect designations of race and colour, has caused Crayola to withdraw its ‘flesh’ tone, replacing it with a separately packaged selection of oranges and browns, appropriately named ‘Skin Tones of the World’.

The action of Crayola crayon manufacturers in removing the offensive ‘flesh’ from their colour palate is an illustration, albeit a very historically specific one, of the problematic connotations associated with the flesh in the West. But ‘flesh’ refers usually to that which lies under the skin, or on the bones — fat and muscle — rather than to the skin itself. In the current affluent West, where surfeit is a far more common phenomenon than famine, excess flesh and lack of bodily ‘fitness’ is interpreted as a sign of laxity, overindulgence and weak will. Anorexia nervosa, the medical condition in which food is deliberately avoided, results from a loathing of the flesh and a desire to discipline bodily appetites. Unlike medieval Christian asceticism or other religious movements which seek to discipline the body to strengthen or elevate the spirit, anorexia victims have as their principal aim the attainment of a less fleshly, and therefore to their mind a better, body.

‘The flesh’ has long carried overtones of transgression, rebellion, and disgust, particularly strong in Christian cultures. This is due largely to a number of commentaries on the Old and New Testaments by early Church Fathers such as St Augustine and St Jerome. By elaborating on the opposition and struggles for supremacy between the spiritual and physical parts in a human being, they denigrated the desires and promptings of the body, or ‘the flesh’, as emblematic of original sin and of man's fallen state.

The first reference to flesh in the Bible is neither a negative nor a condemnatory one. It appears in Genesis 2, when God removes a rib from Adam while he is sleeping, and from it creates Eve to be his companion and helpmate. On waking, Adam declares,

‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh’ (21-5).

Flesh and bone, or, as in the later idiom, flesh and blood, thus epitomizes kinship, the tangible bonds between family members. The physical union between man and wife is symbolized and ritually celebrated, by their becoming ‘one flesh’, or one body.

This description of the state of matrimony before the Fall was tendentiously placed by Jerome, as occurring after Adam and Eve had sinned, thus tainting all fleshly union with evil. Jerome further points out that Jesus himself remained ‘a virgin in the flesh and a monogamist in the spirit’, faithful to his only bride, the church. The passage to which Jerome alludes is that in Romans (7: 24-5), in which Paul says,

‘O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? … with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.’

The response to Paul's desperate call is, of course, Jesus Christ, whose law of the spirit will free mankind from the law of sin and death: ‘For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live’ (8: 13).

In the Confessions, Augustine identifies the question of self-government with the rational control of sexual impulses. He recalls how, ‘in the sixteenth year of the age of my flesh … the madness of raging lust exercised its supreme dominion over me.’ The first government in Creation was the rule, within Adam, of the rational soul over the body. This hierarchy reflected the obedience and subjection of all Creation to the Creator, an order which was first overturned by Adam's transgression and rebellion against God's rule. Augustine points out the aptness of the punishment for this uprising, which was none other than disobedience within Adam's own self:

‘After Adam and Eve disobeyed … they felt for the first time a movement of disobedience in their flesh, as punishment in kind for their own disobedience to God … The soul, which had taken a perverse delight in its own liberty and disdained to serve God, was now deprived of its original mastery over the body.’

In the beginning, Augustine insists, Adam and Eve enjoyed mental mastery over the procreative process: the sexual members, like the other parts of the body, enacted the work of procreation by a deliberate act of will, ‘like a handshake.’ Ever since Eden, however, spontaneous sexual desire is, Augustine contends, the clearest evidence of original sin. What epitomizes our rebellion against God, is the ‘rebellion in the flesh — the spontaneous uprising in our ‘disobedient members’.

The battle specifically for chastity, or freedom from sexual urges of the flesh, is discussed by Cassian, the first-century ascetic, in his Institutiones, and in several of his Conferences. Within the deadly sins, fornication is coupled with greed: like greed it is rooted in the body; they are ‘natural’ vices and hence difficult to cure. While sins like anger or despair can be fought only in the mind, fornication cannot be eradicated without chastizing the body. There must therefore be severe mortification which still permits us to ‘depart from this flesh while living in the body’, to gain deliverance from the corruption and moral vicissitudes of the flesh.

The passage in Romans quoted above inspired legions of physically punitive practices of worship in Christianity, in which the filth of the world was combatted by the discipline of the self, the voluntary annihilation, self-torture, and deformation, of the foul and bestial flesh. Self-flagellation and mutilation, prolonged fasting or the eating of distasteful or rotten food, sleep deprivation through night vigils, continuous kneeling in prayer upon stones or nails, the wearing of vermin-infested clothes, exposure to extreme cold and heat, degrading and backbreaking labour, were expressions of the desire to subdue, castigate, and mortify the sinful body in order to liberate the soul imprisoned by its needs and desires. ‘Let us kill this flesh, ’ cried the first-century monk, John Climacus, as he ascended the Santa Scala, the holy ladder to monastic perfection, ‘let us kill it just as it has killed us with the moral blow of sin.’ St Bernard of Clairvaux in the 12th century wrote in his Meditationes that

‘This flesh … is no better than filthy Rags … froth and bubble, clothed with a gay, but frail and decayed beauty; and time will shortly come, when all its boasted charms shall sink into a rotten Carcass.’ Man, concluded Bernard, is nothing but stinking sperm, a sack of dung, and food for worms.

The feelings of disgust and horror invoked by the body and the flesh in the Christian ascetic tradition find a distant parallel in the many and varied customs of flesh food avoidance found around the world. The use of living creatures for food is everywhere influenced by rules, prejudices, and conventions. The feelings associated with unacceptable foods of animal origin are much stronger than those associated with foods of plant origin, as animals are forceful vehicles for highly emotionally charged ideas.

Ideas of contact or contagion suggest that, by ingesting flesh, one can take on the undesirable qualities of the animal or part of the animal one eats. These reveal concerns over purity and pollution, and the disgust at different flesh foods derives from a dread of being contaminated or debased. This fear of defilement is generated principally by waste products of human or animal bodies, which in a broad sense may extend to anything coming from the body. As StBernard says, ‘Consider a little those constant evacuations, the discharges of thy mouth, and nose, and other passages … and ask thy self how much this differs from a Common Shore [sewer] …’ The dietary purity of the animal may enhance its status as flesh food: hence herbivores, especially those pastured or which graze in the wild, are considered ‘clean’ compared with carnivores, the disgusting qualities of whose flesh are enhanced by the disgusting things they may consume. Most unclean of all are those animals who are fed on refuse scraps, human or animal excrement, or who scavenge dead animals: omnivores such as pigs, dogs, or carrion crows.

— Natsu Hattori

Bibliography

• Camporesi, P. (1988). The incorruptible flesh: bodily mutation and mortification in religion and folklore, (trans. Tania Croft-Murray). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Pagels, E. (1988). Adam, Eve and the Serpent. Wiedenfeld and Nicolson, London.
• Simoons, F. J. (1994). Eat not this flesh. Food avoidances from prehistory to the present. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison

See also asceticism.

noun

The human race: earth, Homo sapiens, humanity, humankind, man, mankind, universe, world. See culture/nature.

Idioms beginning with flesh:
flesh out

See also go the way of all flesh; in person (the flesh); make one's flesh creep; neither fish nor fowl (flesh); pound of flesh; press the flesh; spirit is willing but the flesh is weak; thorn in one's flesh.

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

The Second Person of the secular Trinity.

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The pulpy, usually edible part of a fruit or vegetable.

IN BRIEF: n. - Alternative names for the body of a human being; The soft tissue of the body of a vertebrate: mainly muscle tissue and fat; A soft moist part of a fruit v. - Remove adhering tissue from (hides) when preparing leather manufacture.

Long years must pass before the truths we have made for ourselves become our very flesh. — Paul Valery 

Tutor's tip: Her "flesh" (the soft substance of the body) felt cool as she stood outside and looked up at the church's "fleche." (a spire)

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1. The meaty portion of an animal product under the protective skin or hide.
   
2. The soft edible tissue in the inside of a fruit or a vegetable.
   

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The soft muscular tissue of the animal body.

• f. flies — large blowflies of the subfamily Sarcophaginae and the genera Sarcophaga and Wohlfahrtia.
• f. marks — patches on a horse's skin where there is no normal skin pigment.
• milky f. — myoliquefaction observed at necropsy in teleosts; caused by infection with myxosporeans of the genera Kudoa, Unicapsula, Chloromyxum, Henneguya. Also thought to be sometimes associated with infections by microsporidia.
• proud f. — exuberant amounts of soft, edematous, unhealthy-looking granulation tissue developing during healing of large surface wounds.
• f. side — the rough side of leather or skin; the side that was undermost in the live state.

See words rhyming with "flesh."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Fleshless.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - kød
v. tr. - gøre blodtørstig, lade smage kød, skrabe, fylde ud
v. intr. - få huld

idioms:

• flesh and blood    kød og blod
• flesh out    få godt huld
• flesh wound    kødsår
• in the flesh    i levende live
• lose flesh    tabe sig
• make one's flesh crawl    give myrekryb
• make one's flesh creep    give myrekryb
• put on flesh    tage på
• someone's own flesh and blood    ens eget kød og blod

Nederlands (Dutch)
vlees, vlezigheid, huid, menselijke natuur, mensheid, levende wezens, soort, stof, van vlees ontdoen, met vlees bedekken, vlezig worden, (inwijden door te) laten voorproeven

Français (French)
n. - chair, pulpe
v. tr. - incarner, poignarder, appâter les chiens (chasse à courre)
v. intr. - incarner

idioms:

• flesh and blood    chair et sang, propre sang
• flesh out    étayer de
• flesh wound    blessure superficielle
• in the flesh    en chair et en os
• lose flesh    maigrir, perdre du poids
• make one's flesh crawl    donner la chair de poule à qn
• make one's flesh creep    donner la chair de poule à qn
• one's own flesh and blood    la chair de sa chair
• put on flesh    prendre de l'embonpoint

Deutsch (German)
n. - Fleisch
v. - zum erstenmal benutzen, jmdn. etwas kosten lassen, ausfüllen

idioms:

• flesh and blood    Fleisch und Blut
• flesh out    untermauern, anreichern
• flesh wound    Fleischwunde
• in the flesh    in natura
• lose flesh    abmagern
• make one's flesh crawl    jmdm. kalt den Rücken runterlaufen lassen
• make one's flesh creep    jmdm. kalt den Rücken runterlaufen lassen
• one's own flesh and blood    sein eigen(es) Fleisch und Blut
• put on flesh    Fleisch ansetzen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σάρκα, κρέας, φαγώσιμα μέρη σφάγιου, σάρκα καρπού
v. - περιβάλλω με σάρκα

idioms:

• flesh and blood    αίμα, συγγενείς/-ής (εξ αίματος)
• flesh out    (καθομ.) επεκτείνομαι, κάνω ουσιαστικότερο
• flesh wound    επιπόλαιο τραύμα (που δεν θίγει κόκαλο)
• in the flesh    με σάρκα και οστά, ζωντανός
• lose flesh    αδυνατίζω
• make one's flesh crawl    προξενώ φρίκη σε
• make one's flesh creep    προξενώ φρίκη σε
• put on flesh    βάζω κρέας, παχαίνω
• someone's own flesh and blood    συγγενής εξ αίματος

Italiano (Italian)
carne umana, carne

idioms:

• flesh and blood    carne ed ossa
• flesh out    rimpolpare
• flesh wound    ferita ai muscoli
• in the flesh    in carne ed ossa
• make one's flesh creep/crawl    far venire la pelle d'oca
• put flesh on    rimpolpare
• someone's own flesh and blood    carne della propria carne

Português (Portuguese)
n. - carne (f) (Anat.), polpa (de fruta) (f)
v. - descarnar, alimentar com carne, iniciar, exercitar

idioms:

• flesh and blood    parente (m), natureza humana
• flesh out    revigorar
• flesh wound    ferimento (m) superficial
• in the flesh    em carne (f) e osso (m) (fig.)
• make one's flesh creep/crawl    aterrorizar alguém
• put flesh on    detalhar
• put on/lose flesh    engordar ou emagrecer
• someone's own flesh and blood    parente (m)

Русский (Russian)
тело, мясо

idioms:

• flesh and blood    люди, плоть и кровь
• flesh out    облекать плотью, вдохнуть жизнь
• flesh wound    легкое ранение, царапина
• in the flesh    собственной персоной, живой, в жизни
• make one's flesh creep/crawl    приводить в ужас
• put flesh on    толстеть, пополнять
• put on/lose flesh    набавить/сбавить вес
• someone's own flesh and blood    родные

Español (Spanish)
n. - carne, pulpa
v. tr. - acostumbrar, hundir (un arma) en la carne
v. intr. - engordar, volverse corpulento

idioms:

• flesh and blood    la naturaleza humana, esp. refiriéndose a su falibilidad, de carne y hueso, pariente
• flesh out    desarrollar, llenar
• flesh wound    herida superficial
• in the flesh    vivo, en persona
• lose flesh    adelgazar
• make one's flesh crawl    ponerle a uno la carne/piel de gallina
• make one's flesh creep    ponerle a uno la carne/piel de gallina
• one's own flesh and blood    sus parientes, de su propia carne/sangre
• put on flesh    engordar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kött
v. - ge hundar smak på kött (jakt)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
肉, 肉体, 肉欲, 用肉喂养, 使长肉, 使肥, 长肉, 发胖

idioms:

• flesh and blood    肉体, 情欲, 人性
• flesh out    充实...的内容, 使完善, 发胖, 长胖
• flesh wound    皮肉伤, 轻伤
• in the flesh    以肉体形式, 亲自
• lose flesh    消瘦
• make one's flesh crawl    使某人毛发直竖, 使某人起鸡皮疙瘩, 使某人毛骨悚然
• make one's flesh creep    使某人毛发直竖, 使某人起鸡皮疙瘩, 使某人毛骨悚然
• put on flesh    长肉, 长胖, 发胖
• someone's own flesh and blood    某人自己的亲骨肉, 某人自己的亲属

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 肉, 肉體, 肉欲
v. tr. - 用肉餵養, 使長肉, 使肥
v. intr. - 長肉, 發胖

idioms:

• flesh and blood    肉體, 情欲, 人性
• flesh out    充實...的內容, 使完善, 發胖, 長胖
• flesh wound    皮肉傷, 輕傷
• in the flesh    以肉體形式, 親自
• lose flesh    消瘦
• make one's flesh crawl    使某人毛髮直豎, 使某人起雞皮疙瘩, 使某人毛骨悚然
• make one's flesh creep    使某人毛髮直豎, 使某人起雞皮疙瘩, 使某人毛骨悚然
• put on flesh    長肉, 長胖, 發胖
• someone's own flesh and blood    某人自己的親骨肉, 某人自己的親屬

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 살, 식용고기, 육체, 정욕
v. tr. - 살을 찌르다, 살을 붙이다, 살찌게 하다
v. intr. - 살찌다, 뚱뚱해지다

idioms:

• flesh out    ~을 충실하게 하다
• in the flesh    산 몸으로 되어, 친히 , 형태의
• make one's flesh crawl    무서움을 느끼다
• make one's flesh creep    전율하게 하다
• put on flesh    뚱뚱해지다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 肉, 肉づき, 食用肉, 肉体, 果肉, 葉肉, 肉色
v. - 肥える

idioms:

• flesh and blood    肉親, 人間, 人間性
• flesh out    肉付けする
• flesh wound    浅い傷
• in the flesh    現身となって, 生の姿で, 本物の
• make one's flesh creep/crawl    くぐり穴, よろよろ歩く
• put flesh on    肉が付く
• put on/lose flesh    体重が増える

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) لحم (فعل) يحرض على القتال , يكسو باللحم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בשר, ציפה, חיי אדם, עור‬
v. tr. - ‮הסיר בשר (מעור), גירה ע"י ריח הבשר, נקט לראשונה באמצעים אלימים‬
v. intr. - ‮עטה בשר, התגלם בגוף‬

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