Because the Egyptian considered his heart to be his inner sun, the source of his being, and also his ka, his double who lives inside his body, not only was meticulous care taken to preserve the physical organ after death but his texts abound with "heart idioms" that describe feelings, conditions of the soul, and traits of temperament. "I have not eaten my heart" means I have not lost my temper and become angry. "I have not hastened my heart" means I have not acted without due consideration. To be happy is to be "long of heart"; to be depressed, "short of heart"; a friend is one who "fills the heart"; to hide one's thoughts is to "drown the heart." To "wash the heart" is to satisfy a desire.
— Gail Godwin, Heart