Teeth, or The Essence of Being كتاب · المقتنيات

Many learned men ponder where the soul of Man resides. Some think it's situated in one’s heart, while others argue it lives in one’s brain. Both are wrong, however. I believe firmly that the soul of man is in his teeth.

For are not teeth the last to decompose, to resist the touch of Death? And is not the growth of adult teeth a sign of one’s maturity? And when David wished his foes punished, did he not say: 'O God, break the teeth in their mouths, tear out the fangs of the young lions'? For he knew that without their teeth, his enemies would be doomed.

To those who still doubt me, I say: behold the venomous serpent. In his fangs his essence coalesces, and it is this essence that makes his bite lethal. Or look to the elephants of Africa, known and prized for their large teeth, which we know by the name of ivory. Or consider sanzhani, the wise if wicked forest spirits, who value teeth above all else.

And consider the myth of Cadmus and Aeëtes, who created men by casting dragon’s teeth onto the fertile soil. And read accounts of mystics, who speak of a fearsome being they see when lost in their holy trance, one bristling with teeth yet mercifully hidden by a veil of clouds…