Bekker (Berlin, 1831) · Loveday & Forster (1913)
Loveday & Forster (1913)
Chapter 1 (800a1–804b39)
800a
1 Τὰς δὲ φωνὰς ἁπάσας συμβαίνει γίγνεσθαι καὶ τοὺς ψόφους
ἢ τῶν σωμάτων ἢ τοῦ ἀέρος πρὸς τὰ σώματα προςπίπτοντος,
οὐ τῷ τὸν ἀέρα σχηματίζεσθαι, καθάπερ οἴονταί
τινες, ἀλλὰ τῷ κινεῖσθαι παραπλησίως αὐτὸν συστελλόμενον
5 καὶ ἐκτεινόμενον καὶ καταλαμβανόμενον, ἔτι δὲ συγκρούοντα
διὰ τὰς τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ τῶν χορδῶν γιγνομένας
πληγάς. ὅταν γὰρ τὸν ἐφεξῆς ἀέρα πλήξῃ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ
ἐμπῖπτον αὐτῷ, ὁ ἀὴρ ἤδη φέρεται βίᾳ, τὸν ἐχόμενον αὑτοῦ
προωθῶν ὁμοίως, ὥστε πάντῃ τὴν φωνὴν διατείνειν τὴν
10 αὐτήν, ἐφ' ὅσον συμβαίνει γίγνεσθαι καὶ τοῦ ἀέρος τὴν κίνησιν.
διαχεῖται γὰρ ἐπὶ πλέονα ἡ βία τῆς κινήσεως αὐτοῦ
γιγνομένης, ὥσπερ καὶ τὰ πνεύματα τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν ποταμῶν
καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς χώρας ἀποπνέοντα. τῶν δὲ φωνῶν
τυφλαὶ μέν εἰσι καὶ νεφώδεις ὅσαι τυγχάνουσιν αὐτοῦ
15 καταπεπνιγμέναι· λαμπραὶ δὲ οὖσαι πόρρω διατείνουσι,
καὶ πάντα πληροῦσι τὸν συνεχῆ τόπον. ἀναπνέομεν δὲ τὸν
μὲν ἀέρα πάντες τὸν αὐτόν, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα καὶ τὰς φωνὰς
ἐκπέμπομεν ἀλλοίας διὰ τὰς τῶν ὑποκειμένων ἀγγείων
διαφοράς, δι' ὧν ἑκάστου τὸ πνεῦμα περαιοῦται
20 [τὰ] πρὸς τὸν ἔξω τόπον. ταῦτα δέ ἐστιν ἥ τε ἀρτηρία καὶ
ὁ πνεύμων καὶ τὸ στόμα. πλείστην μὲν οὖν διαφορὰν ἀπεργάζονται
τῆς φωνῆς αἵ τε τοῦ ἀέρος πληγαὶ καὶ οἱ τοῦ
στόματος σχηματισμοί. φανερὸν δ' ἐστίν· καὶ γὰρ τῶν
φθόγγων αἱ διαφοραὶ πᾶσαι γίγνονται διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν,
25 καὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ὁρῶμεν μιμουμένους καὶ ἵππων φωνὰς
καὶ βατράχων καὶ ἀηδόνων καὶ γεράνων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων
ζῴων σχεδὸν ἁπάντων, τῷ αὐτῷ χρωμένους πνεύματι καὶ
ἀρτηρίᾳ, παρὰ τὸ τὸν ἀέρα διαφόρως ἐκπέμπειν αὐτοὺς ἐκ
τοῦ στόματος. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τῶν ὀρνέων, ὅταν ἀκούσωσι,
30 μιμοῦνται τὰς τῶν ἄλλων φωνὰς διὰ τὴν εἰρημένην αἰτίαν.
ὁ δὲ πνεύμων ὅταν ᾖ μικρὸς καὶ πυκνὸς καὶ σκληρός, οὔτε
δέχεσθαι τὸν ἀέρα δύναται πολὺν εἰς αὑτὸν οὔτε ἐκπέμπειν
πάλιν ἔξω, οὐδὲ τὴν πληγὴν ἰσχυρὰν οὐδὲ εὔρωστον ποιεῖσθαι
τὴν τοῦ πνεύματος. διὰ γὰρ τὸ εἶναι σκληρὸς καὶ πυκνὸς
35 καὶ συνδεδεμένος οὐ δύναται λαμβάνειν τὴν διαστολὴν ἐπὶ
πολὺν τόπον, οὐδὲ πάλιν ἐκ πολλοῦ διαστήματος συνάγων
1ALL sounds, whether articulate or inarticulate, are 8007 produced by the meeting of bodies with other bodies or of the air with bodies, not because the air assumes certain shapes, as some people think, but because it is set in motion in the way in which, in other cases, bodies 5are moved, whether by contraction or expansion or compression, or again when it clashes together by an impact from the breath or from the strings of musical instruments. For, when the nearest portion of it is struck by the breath which comes into contact with it, the air is at once driven forcibly on, thrusting forward in like manner the adjoining 10air, so that the sound travels unaltered in quality as far as the disturbance of the air manages to reach. For, though the disturbance originates at a particular point, yet its force is dispersed over an extending area, like breezes which blow from rivers or from the land. Sounds which happen for any reason to have been stifled where they arise, are 15dim and misty; but, if they are clear, they travel far and fill all the space around them.
We all breathe in the same air, but the breath and the sounds which we emit differ owing to structural variations of the organs at our disposal, through which the breath must travel in its passage from within—namely, the windpipe, the lungs, and the mouth. 20Now the impact of the breath upon the air and the shapes assumed by the mouth make most difference to the voice. This is clearly the case ; for indeed all the differences in the kinds of sounds which are produced proceed from this cause, and we find the same people imitating the neighing of horses, the croaking of frogs, the song of the nightingale, 25the cries of cranes, and practically every other living creature, by means of the same breath and windpipe, merely by expelling the air μι ο or is) ο from the mouth in different ways. Many birds also imitate by these means the cries of other birds which they hear. As to the lungs, when they are small and. inexpansive and hard, they cannot admit 30the air nor expel it again in large quantities, nor is the impact of the breath strong and vigorous. For, because they are hard and inexpansive and constricted, they do not admit of dilatation to any great extent, nor again can they force out the breath by contracting after wide distension; just as we ourselves cannot produce any effect with bellows, 35when they have become hard and cannot easily be dilated and closed.
We all breathe in the same air, but the breath and the sounds which we emit differ owing to structural variations of the organs at our disposal, through which the breath must travel in its passage from within—namely, the windpipe, the lungs, and the mouth. 20Now the impact of the breath upon the air and the shapes assumed by the mouth make most difference to the voice. This is clearly the case ; for indeed all the differences in the kinds of sounds which are produced proceed from this cause, and we find the same people imitating the neighing of horses, the croaking of frogs, the song of the nightingale, 25the cries of cranes, and practically every other living creature, by means of the same breath and windpipe, merely by expelling the air μι ο or is) ο from the mouth in different ways. Many birds also imitate by these means the cries of other birds which they hear. As to the lungs, when they are small and. inexpansive and hard, they cannot admit 30the air nor expel it again in large quantities, nor is the impact of the breath strong and vigorous. For, because they are hard and inexpansive and constricted, they do not admit of dilatation to any great extent, nor again can they force out the breath by contracting after wide distension; just as we ourselves cannot produce any effect with bellows, 35when they have become hard and cannot easily be dilated and closed.
800b
1 ἑαυτὸν ἐκθλίβειν βίᾳ τὸ πνεῦμα, καθάπερ οὐδ' ἡμεῖς ταῖς
φύσαις, ὅταν ὦσι σκληραὶ καὶ μήτε διαστέλλεσθαι μήτε
πιέζεσθαι δύνωνται ῥᾳδίως. τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ ποιοῦν τὴν τοῦ
πνεύματος πληγὴν εὔρωστον, ὅταν ὁ πνεύμων ἐκ πολλοῦ
5 διαστήματος συνάγων αὑτὸν ἐκθλίβῃ τὸν ἀέρα βιαίως. δῆλον
δὲ τοῦτ' ἐστίν· οὐδὲ γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων μορίων οὐθὲν ἐκ μικρᾶς
ἀποστάσεως δύναται ποιεῖσθαι τὴν πληγὴν ἰσχυράν.
οὔτε γὰρ τῷ σκέλει δυνατόν ἐστιν οὔτε τῇ χειρὶ πατάξαι
σφοδρῶς οὐδὲ ἀπορρῖψαι πόρρω τὸ πληγέν, ἐὰν μή τις αὐτῶν
10 ἑκατέρῳ ἐκ πολλοῦ λάβῃ τῆς πληγῆς τὴν ἀπόστασιν.
εἰ δὲ μή, σκληρὰ μὲν ἡ πληγὴ γίγνεται διὰ τὴν συντονίαν,
ἐκβιάζεσθαι δὲ οὐ δύναται πόρρω τὸ πληγέν, ἐπεὶ οὔθ' οἱ
καταπέλται μακρὰν δύνανται βάλλειν οὔθ' ἡ σφενδόνη οὔτε
τόξον, ἂν ᾖ σκληρὸν καὶ μὴ δύνηται κάμπτεσθαι, μηδὲ
15 τὴν ἀναγωγὴν ἡ νευρὰ λαμβάνειν ἐπὶ πολὺν τόπον. ἐὰν
δὲ μέγας ὁ πνεύμων ᾖ καὶ μαλακὸς καὶ εὔτονος, πολὺν
τὸν ἀέρα δύναται δέχεσθαι, καὶ τοῦτον ἐκπέμπειν πάλιν,
ταμιευόμενος ὡς ἂν βούληται διὰ τὴν μαλακότητα καὶ διὰ
τὸ ῥᾳδίως αὑτὸν συστέλλειν. ἡ δὲ ἀρτηρία μακρὰ μὲν ὅταν
20 ᾖ καὶ στενή, χαλεπῶς ἐκπέμπουσιν ἔξω τὴν φωνὴν καὶ
μετὰ βίας πολλῆς διὰ τὸ μῆκος τῆς τοῦ πνεύματος φορᾶς.
φανερὸν δ' ἐστίν· πάντα γὰρ τὰ τοὺς τραχήλους ἔχοντα
μακροὺς φθέγγονται βιαίως, οἷον οἱ χῆνες καὶ γέρανοι καὶ
ἀλεκτρυόνες. μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦτο καταφανές ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῶν αὐτῶν·
25 πάντες γὰρ χαλεπῶς πληροῦσι τοὺς βόμβυκας καὶ
μετὰ συντονίας πολλῆς διὰ τὸ μῆκος τῆς ἀποστάσεως. ἔτι
δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα διὰ τὴν στενοχωρίαν ὅταν ἐντὸς θλιβόμενον
εἰς τὸν ἔξω τόπον ἐκπέσῃ, παραχρῆμα διαχεῖται καὶ σκεδάννυται,
καθάπερ καὶ τὰ ῥεύματα φερόμενα διὰ τῶν εὐρίπων,
30 ὥστε μὴ δύνασθαι τὴν φωνὴν συμμένειν μηδὲ διατείνειν
ἐπὶ πολὺν τόπον. ἅμα δὲ καὶ δυσταμίευτον ἀνάγκη
πάντων τῶν τοιούτων εἶναι τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ μὴ ῥᾳδίως ὑπηρετεῖν.
ὅσων δέ ἐστι μέγα τὸ διάστημα τῆς ἀρτηρίας, τῶν
δὲ τοιούτων ἔξω μὲν περαιοῦσθαι συμβαίνει τὸ πνεῦμα ῥᾳδίως,
35 ἐντὸς δὲ φερόμενον διαχεῖσθαι διὰ τὴν εὐρυχωρίαν,
καὶ τὴν φωνὴν γίνεσθαι κενὴν καὶ μὴ συνεστῶσαν, ἔτι δὲ
1For what gives strength to the impact of the breath is that the lungs after wide distension contract and violently force out the air. This can be illustrated from the other parts of the body, none of which can strike a blow with any effect at a very 5close distance. It is impossible with either the leg or the hand to smite the object of your blow with any το force or to hurl it far, unless you allow the limb a considerable distance in which to strike the blow. If you fail to do so, the blow is hard owing to the energy exerted, but it cannot force its object far. 10Under similar circumstances stone-throwing engines cannot shoot far, nor a sling, nor a bow, if it is stiff and will not bend, and the string cannot be drawn back far. But if the lung is large and soft and flexible, it can admit the air and expel it again in large quantities, regulating it at will, thanks to its 15softness and the ease with which it can contract.
ΑΒ for the windpipe, when it is long and narrow, it is only with difficulty that the voice is emitted, and considerable force is required owing to the distance that the breath has to travel. This is clear from the fact that creatures which have long necks force out their 20cries— geese, for example, and cranes and domestic fowls. A better illustration may be taken from the oboe; every one, for instance, finds a difficulty in filling an oboe of the kind called the ‘silkworm’,} and considerable exertion is required owing to the amount of space to be filled. Furthermore, owing to 25narrowness of the passage, the breath is compressed within, and on escaping immediately expands and disperses, like streams when they pass through narrow straits; so that the voice is not sustained and does not carry far. Moreover, in such cases the breath must necessarily be hard to regulate and not easily controlled. 30On the other hand, when the windpipe is of considerable width, the breath can pass out easily, but, whilst travelling within, it becomes dispersed owing to the abundance of space, and the voice becomes hollow and lacks solidity ; furthermore, creatures which have wide windpipes cannot articulate! go1 clearly with 35their breath because the windpipe does not hold firmly together.
ΑΒ for the windpipe, when it is long and narrow, it is only with difficulty that the voice is emitted, and considerable force is required owing to the distance that the breath has to travel. This is clear from the fact that creatures which have long necks force out their 20cries— geese, for example, and cranes and domestic fowls. A better illustration may be taken from the oboe; every one, for instance, finds a difficulty in filling an oboe of the kind called the ‘silkworm’,} and considerable exertion is required owing to the amount of space to be filled. Furthermore, owing to 25narrowness of the passage, the breath is compressed within, and on escaping immediately expands and disperses, like streams when they pass through narrow straits; so that the voice is not sustained and does not carry far. Moreover, in such cases the breath must necessarily be hard to regulate and not easily controlled. 30On the other hand, when the windpipe is of considerable width, the breath can pass out easily, but, whilst travelling within, it becomes dispersed owing to the abundance of space, and the voice becomes hollow and lacks solidity ; furthermore, creatures which have wide windpipes cannot articulate! go1 clearly with 35their breath because the windpipe does not hold firmly together.
801a
1 μὴ δύνασθαι διαιρεῖσθαι τῷ πνεύματι τοὺς τοιούτους διὰ τὸ
μὴ συνερείδεσθαι τὴν ἀρτηρίαν αὐτῶν. ὅσων δ' ἐστὶν ἀνωμάλως
καὶ μὴ πάντοθεν ἔχει τὴν διάστασιν ὁμοίαν, τούτους
ἀναγκαῖον ἁπασῶν μετέχειν τῶν δυσχερειῶν. καὶ γὰρ
5 ἀνωμάλως αὐτοῖς ἀνάγκη τὸ πνεῦμα ὑπηρετεῖν καὶ θλίβεσθαι
καὶ καθ' ἕτερον τόπον διαχεῖσθαι πάλιν. βραχείας
δὲ τῆς ἀρτηρίας οὔσης ταχὺ μὲν ἀνάγκη τὸ πνεῦμα ἐκπέμπειν
καὶ τὴν πληγὴν ἰσχυροτέραν γίνεσθαι τὴν τοῦ ἀέρος,
πάντας δὲ τοὺς τοιούτους ὀξύτερον φωνεῖν διὰ τὸ τάχος τῆς
10 τοῦ πνεύματος φορᾶς. οὐ μόνον δὲ συμβαίνει τὰς τῶν ἀγγείων
διαφοράς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ πάθη πάντα τὰς φωνὰς
ἀλλοιοῦν. ὅταν μὲν γὰρ ὦσιν ὑγρασίας πλήρη πολλῆς ὅ τε
πνεύμων καὶ ἡ ἀρτηρία, διασπᾶται τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ οὐ δύναται
περαιοῦσθαι εἰς τὸν ἔξω τόπον συνεχῶς διὰ τὸ προςκόπτειν
15 καὶ γίνεσθαι παχὺν καὶ ὑγρὸν καὶ δυσκίνητον, καθάπερ
καὶ περὶ τοὺς κατάρρους καὶ τὰς μέθας. ἐὰν δὲ ξηρὸν
ᾖ τὸ πνεῦμα παντελῶς, σκληροτέρα ἡ φωνὴ γίγνεται
καὶ διεσπασμένη· συνέχει γὰρ ἡ νοτίς, ὅταν ᾖ λεπτή, τὸν
ἀέρα, καὶ ποιεῖ τινὰ τῆς φωνῆς ἁπλότητα. τῶν μὲν οὖν ἀγγείων
20 αἱ διαφοραὶ καὶ τῶν παθῶν τῶν περὶ αὐτὰ γιγνομένων
τοιαύτας ἕκασται τὰς φωνὰς ἀποτελοῦσιν. αἱ δὲ φωναὶ
δοκοῦσι μὲν εἶναι καθ' οὓς ἂν ἕκασται γίγνωνται τόπους, ἀκούομεν
δὲ πασῶν αὐτῶν, ὅταν ἡμῖν προσπέσωσι πρὸς τὴν ἀκοήν.
ὁ γὰρ ὠσθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς πληγῆς ἀὴρ μέχρι μέν τινος
25 φέρεται συνεχής, ἔπειτα κατὰ μικρὸν ἀεὶ διακινεῖται μᾶλλον,
καὶ τούτῳ γιγνώσκομεν πάντας τοὺς ψόφους καὶ τοὺς
πόρρω γιγνομένους καὶ τοὺς ἐγγύς. δῆλον δ' ἐστίν· ὅταν γάρ
τις λαβὼν κέραμον ἢ αὐλὸν ἢ σάλπιγγα, προσθείς τε ἑτέρῳ
πρὸς τὴν ἀκοήν, διὰ τούτων λαλῇ, πᾶσαι δοκοῦσιν αἱ
30 φωναὶ παντελῶς εἶναι πλησίον τῆς ἀκοῆς διὰ τὸ μὴ σκεδάννυσθαι
τὸν ἀέρα φερόμενον, ἀλλὰ διατηρεῖσθαι τὴν φωνὴν
ὁμοίαν ὑπὸ τοῦ περιέχοντος ὀργάνου. καθάπερ οὖν καὶ ἐπὶ
τῆς γραφῆς, ὅταν τις τοῖς χρώμασι τὸ μὲν ὅμοιον ποιήσῃ
τῷ πόρρω τὸ δὲ τῷ πλήσιον, τὸ μὲν ἡμῖν ἀνακεχωρηκέναι
35 δοκεῖ τῆς γραφῆς τὸ δὲ προέχειν, ἀμφοτέρων αὐτῶν ὄντων
ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐπιφανείας. οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ψόφων καὶ
τῆς φωνῆς, ὅταν ἡ μὲν ἤδη διαλελυμένη προσπίπτῃ πρὸς
τὴν ἀκοὴν ἡ δέ τις συνεχής, ἀμφοτέρων αὐτῶν ἀφικνουμένων
πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν τόπον, ἡ μὲν ἀφεστηκέναι πόρρω δοκεῖ
40 τῆς ἀκοῆς ἡ δ' εἶναι σύνεγγυς, διὰ τὸ τὴν μέντοι πόρρωθεν
1Creatures in whom the windpipe is irregular and has not the same width throughout must suffer from difficulties of every kind; for their breath must be under irregular control, and must be compressed in one part and dispersed again in another part. If the windpipe is short, it 5necessitates a quick expulsion of the breath, and the impact on the air is more violent ; in such cases the voice is more piercing owing to the quick passage . of the breath.
Not only structural variations in the organs of speech make a difference to the voice, but also their condition. When the lungs and the windpipe are full of moisture, the breath is 10impeded and does not pass out continuously, because it is interrupted and becomes thick and moist and difficult to move, as happens in the case of a catarrh and in drunkenness. If the breath be absolutely dry, the voice becomes rather hard and dispersed; for moisture, when it is slight, holds the air together and causes, as it were, a unity in the 15voice. Such, then, are the differences in the voice caused by structural variations in the organs of speech and the varying condition of the organs.
Now though we localize sounds where they severally originate, yet in every case we actually hear them only when they strike upon the ear; for the air struck by the impact of the breath is borne along for 20a certain distance in a mass, and then gradually becomes dispersed, and we 2; οι Io hereby distinguish all sounds as near or distant. This can be illustrated by the fact that if a man takes a pot! or a pipe or a trumpet and holds it up to another man’s ear and speaks through it, all the sounds which he utters seem quite close to the ear, because the 25air passing along the tube is not dispersed and the sound is kept uniform by the instrument which encloses it. Just as in a picture, if an artist represents two objects in colour, one as though it were at a distance and the other as though it were close at hand, the former object appears to us to be sunk into the background of the picture and the 30latter to stand out in the foreground, though they are really in the same plane ; so, too, in the case of sounds, whether articulate or inarticulate, if one sound is already dissolved before it strikes the ear, whilst another still retains its continuity, though both reach the same spot, the former seems distant from the ear and the latter quite near to 35it, because the one resembles a sound coming from afar, the other a sound? close at hand.
Voices are distinct in proportion to the accuracy of the sounds uttered; for it is impossible for the voice to be distinct if the sounds are not perfectly articulated, just as the sealings of signet-rings cannot be distinct unless they are accurately impressed.
Not only structural variations in the organs of speech make a difference to the voice, but also their condition. When the lungs and the windpipe are full of moisture, the breath is 10impeded and does not pass out continuously, because it is interrupted and becomes thick and moist and difficult to move, as happens in the case of a catarrh and in drunkenness. If the breath be absolutely dry, the voice becomes rather hard and dispersed; for moisture, when it is slight, holds the air together and causes, as it were, a unity in the 15voice. Such, then, are the differences in the voice caused by structural variations in the organs of speech and the varying condition of the organs.
Now though we localize sounds where they severally originate, yet in every case we actually hear them only when they strike upon the ear; for the air struck by the impact of the breath is borne along for 20a certain distance in a mass, and then gradually becomes dispersed, and we 2; οι Io hereby distinguish all sounds as near or distant. This can be illustrated by the fact that if a man takes a pot! or a pipe or a trumpet and holds it up to another man’s ear and speaks through it, all the sounds which he utters seem quite close to the ear, because the 25air passing along the tube is not dispersed and the sound is kept uniform by the instrument which encloses it. Just as in a picture, if an artist represents two objects in colour, one as though it were at a distance and the other as though it were close at hand, the former object appears to us to be sunk into the background of the picture and the 30latter to stand out in the foreground, though they are really in the same plane ; so, too, in the case of sounds, whether articulate or inarticulate, if one sound is already dissolved before it strikes the ear, whilst another still retains its continuity, though both reach the same spot, the former seems distant from the ear and the latter quite near to 35it, because the one resembles a sound coming from afar, the other a sound? close at hand.
Voices are distinct in proportion to the accuracy of the sounds uttered; for it is impossible for the voice to be distinct if the sounds are not perfectly articulated, just as the sealings of signet-rings cannot be distinct unless they are accurately impressed.
801b
1 ὁμοίαν εἶναι, τὴν δὲ πλησίον. σαφεῖς δὲ μάλιστα αἱ
φωναὶ γίγνονται παρὰ τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τὴν τῶν φθόγγων.
ἀδύνατον γὰρ μὴ τελέως τούτων διηρθρωμένων τὰς φωνὰς
εἶναι σαφεῖς, καθάπερ καὶ τὰς τῶν δακτυλίων σφραγῖδας,
5 ὅταν μὴ διατυπωθῶσιν ἀκριβῶς. διόπερ οὔτε τὰ παιδία δύνανται
διαλέγεσθαι σαφῶς, οὔτε οἱ μεθύοντες, οὔτε οἱ γέροντες,
οὔθ' ὅσοι φύσει τραυλοὶ τυγχάνουσιν ὄντες, οὔθ' ὅλως
ὅσων εἰσὶν αἱ γλῶτται καὶ τὰ στόματα δυσκίνητα. ὥσπερ
γὰρ καὶ τὰ χαλκεῖα καὶ τὰ κέρατα συνηχοῦντα ποιεῖ τοὺς
10 ἀπὸ τῶν ὀργάνων φθόγγους σαφεστέρους, οὕτως καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς
διαλέκτου πολλὴν ἀσάφειαν ἀπεργάζεται τὰ ἐκπίπτοντα τῶν
πνευμάτων ἐκ τοῦ στόματος, ὅταν μὴ διατυπωθῶσιν ὁμοίως.
οὐ μόνον δὲ ἑαυτῶν τινὰ παρεμφαίνουσιν ἀσάφειαν, ἀλλὰ
καὶ τοὺς διηρθρωμένους τῶν φθόγγων ἐμποδίζουσιν, ἀνομοίας
15 αὐτῶν γιγνομένης τῆς περὶ τὴν ἀκοὴν κινήσεως. διὸ καὶ
μᾶλλον ἑνὸς ἀκούοντες συνίεμεν ἢ πολλῶν ἅμα ταὐτὰ
λεγόντων, καθάπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν χορδῶν· καὶ πολὺ ἧττον,
ὅταν προσαυλῇ τις ἅμα καὶ κιθαρίζῃ, διὰ τὸ συγχεῖσθαι
τὰς φωνὰς ὑπὸ τῶν ἑτέρων. οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τῶν
20 συμφωνιῶν φανερόν ἐστιν· ἀμφοτέρους γὰρ ἀποκρύπτεσθαι
τοὺς ἤχους συμβαίνει ὑπ' ἀλλήλων. ἀσαφεῖς μὲν οὖν φωναὶ
γίγνονται διὰ τὰς εἰρημένας αἰτίας, λαμπραὶ δὲ γίνονται
καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν χρωμάτων· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ τὰ μάλιστα
δυνάμενα τὰς ὄψεις κινεῖν, ταῦτα εἶναι συμβαίνει τῶν
25 χρωμάτων λαμπρότατα. τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῶν φωνῶν
ταύτας ὑποληπτέον εἶναι λαμπροτάτας, ὅσαι μάλιστα δύνανται
προσπίπτουσαι κινεῖν τὴν ἀκοήν. τοιαῦται δέ εἰσιν αἱ
σαφεῖς καὶ πυκναὶ καὶ καθαραὶ καὶ πόρρω δυνάμεναι διατείνειν·
καὶ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις αἰσθητοῖς ἅπασι τὰ ἰσχυρότερα
30 καὶ πυκνότερα καὶ καθαρώτερα σαφεστέρας ποιεῖ τὰς
αἰσθήσεις. δῆλον δέ· τὸ γὰρ τελευταῖον αἱ φωναὶ πᾶσαι
γίγνονται κωφαί, τοῦ ἀέρος ἤδη διαχεομένου. δῆλον δ' ἐστὶ
κἀπὶ τῶν αὐλῶν. τὰ γὰρ ἔχοντα τῶν δευτέρων τὰς γλώττας
πλαγίας μαλακωτέραν μὲν ἀποδίδωσι τὴν φωνήν, οὐχ
35 ὁμοίως δὲ λαμπράν· τὸ γὰρ πνεῦμα φερόμενον εὐθέως εἰς
εὐρυχωρίαν ἐμπίπτει, καὶ οὐκέτι φέρεται σύντονον οὐδὲ συνεστηκός,
ἀλλὰ διεσκεδασμένον. ἐν δὲ ταῖς σκληροτέραις
γλώτταις ἡ φωνὴ γίνεται σκληροτέρα καὶ λαμπροτέρα, ἂν
πιέσῃ τις αὐτὰς μᾶλλον τοῖς χείλεσι, διὰ τὸ φέρεσθαι τὸ
40 πνεῦμα βιαιότερον. αἱ μὲν οὖν λαμπραὶ τῶν φωνῶν γίγνονται
1For this reason children cannot speak distinctly, nor drunken persons, nor old people, nor those who naturally lisp, nor, speaking generally, those whose tongues and mouths have any defect of movement. For as in instrumental music the sound produced by the combination of brass instruments 5and horns is less distinct, so too, in the case of speech, great indistinctness is caused by the escape of breath from the mouth if the sounds are irregularly formed. They not only present themselves indistinctly, but they also impede the carefully articulated sounds, because the movement to which they give rise, and which affects the ear, is irregular. 10Therefore, when we hear one person speaking, we understand better than when we hear a number of persons saying the same thing at the same time. The same is the case with stringed instruments ; and we hear still less well when the oboe and lyre are played at the same time, because the sounds confuse one another. This is particularly evident when they are played in 15harmony, the result being that the two sounds produced drown one another. The conditions under which sounds become distinct } have now been stated.
Clearness in sound resembles clearness in colour. Those colours which most affect the eye are most clearly seen; in like manner we must suppose that those sounds are most clearly heard which are most able to affect 20the hearing, when they strike upon it, in other words sounds which are distinct and solid and pure, and have most power of penetration ; for indeed it is a general law of sense-perceptions that the most distinct impressions are produced by the strongest, solidest, and purest stimuli. This is borne out by the fact that all sounds finally become dim as the air 25which carries them becomes dispersed. The point can also be illustrated from the oboe; the sounds produced by oboes which have sloping reeds in their mouthpieces? are softer, but not so clear; for the breath being forced down passes immediately into a wide space and is not continuously and consistently sustained, but becomes dispersed. But when the reeds are 30closely constructed,? the sound produced is harder and clearer, the more one presses them against the lips, because the breath is thus emitted with more violence. Such, then, are the conditions of clearness in the voice. So voices which are called ‘grey’* are % generally considered no worse than those which are called ‘white ’.6 For voices which are rather harsh 35and slightly confused and have not any very marked clearness are the fitting accompaniment of outbreaks of passion and of advancing years, and at the same time, owing to their intensity, they are less under control ; for what is produced by violent exertion is not easily regulated, for it is difficult to increase or decrease the strength of the sound at will.
Clearness in sound resembles clearness in colour. Those colours which most affect the eye are most clearly seen; in like manner we must suppose that those sounds are most clearly heard which are most able to affect 20the hearing, when they strike upon it, in other words sounds which are distinct and solid and pure, and have most power of penetration ; for indeed it is a general law of sense-perceptions that the most distinct impressions are produced by the strongest, solidest, and purest stimuli. This is borne out by the fact that all sounds finally become dim as the air 25which carries them becomes dispersed. The point can also be illustrated from the oboe; the sounds produced by oboes which have sloping reeds in their mouthpieces? are softer, but not so clear; for the breath being forced down passes immediately into a wide space and is not continuously and consistently sustained, but becomes dispersed. But when the reeds are 30closely constructed,? the sound produced is harder and clearer, the more one presses them against the lips, because the breath is thus emitted with more violence. Such, then, are the conditions of clearness in the voice. So voices which are called ‘grey’* are % generally considered no worse than those which are called ‘white ’.6 For voices which are rather harsh 35and slightly confused and have not any very marked clearness are the fitting accompaniment of outbreaks of passion and of advancing years, and at the same time, owing to their intensity, they are less under control ; for what is produced by violent exertion is not easily regulated, for it is difficult to increase or decrease the strength of the sound at will.
802a
1 διὰ τὰς εἰρημένας αἰτίας· παρὸ καὶ δοκοῦσιν οὐ χείρους
εἶναι τῶν λευκῶν αἱ καλούμεναι φαιαί. πρὸς γὰρ τὰ πάθη
καὶ τὰς πρεσβυτέρας ἡλικίας μᾶλλον ἁρμόττουσιν αἱ τραχύτεραι
καὶ μικρὸν ὑποσυγκεχυμέναι καὶ μὴ λίαν ἔχουσαι
5 τὸ λαμπρὸν ἐκφανές. ἅμα δὲ καὶ διὰ τὴν συντονίαν οὐχ
ὁμοίως εἰσὶν εὐπειθεῖς. τὸ γὰρ βίᾳ φερόμενον δυσταμίευτον.
οὔτε γὰρ ἐπιτεῖναι ῥᾴδιον, ὡς βούλεταί τις, οὔτε ἀνιέναι. ἐπὶ
δὲ τῶν αὐλῶν γίγνονται αἱ φωναὶ λαμπραί, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων
ὀργάνων, ὅταν τὸ ἐκπῖπτον πνεῦμα πυκνὸν ᾖ καὶ σύντονον.
10 ἀνάγκη γὰρ καὶ τοῦ ἔξωθεν ἀέρος τοιαύτας γίγνεσθαι τὰς
πληγάς, καὶ μάλιστα τὰς φωνὰς οὕτω διαπέμπεσθαι συνεστώσας
πρὸς τὴν ἀκοήν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὰς ὀσμὰς καὶ τὸ φῶς
καὶ τὰς θερμότητας. καὶ γὰρ πάντα ταῦτα ἀραιότερα
φαινόμενα πρὸς τὴν αἴσθησιν ἀσημότερα γίγνεται, καθάπερ
15 καὶ οἱ χυλοὶ κραθέντες τῷ ὕδατι καὶ ἑτέροις χυλοῖς.
τὸ γὰρ ἑαυτοῦ παρέχον αἴσθησιν ἀσαφεῖς ἑκάστῳ ποιεῖ τὰς
δυνάμεις. ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ὀργάνων οἱ τῶν κεράτων
ἦχοι πυκνοὶ καὶ συνεχεῖς πρὸς τὸν ἀέρα προσπίπτοντες
ποιοῦσι τὰς φωνὰς ἀμαυράς· διὸ δεῖ τὸ κέρας τὴν φύσιν
20 ἔχειν τῆς αὐξήσεως ὁμαλὴν καὶ λείαν καὶ μὴ ταχέως
ἐκδεδραμηκυῖαν. ἀνάγκη γὰρ μαλακώτερα καὶ χαυνότερα
γίγνεσθαι τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν κεράτων, ὥστε τοὺς ἤχους διασπᾶσθαι
καὶ μὴ συνεχεῖς ἐκπίπτειν δι' αὐτῶν μηδὲ γεγωνεῖν
ὁμοίως διὰ τὴν μαλακότητα καὶ τὴν ἀραιότητα τῶν
25 πόρων. μηδὲ πάλιν εἶναι δυσαυξῆ τὴν φύσιν, μηδὲ τὴν
σύμφυσιν ἔχειν πυκνὴν καὶ σκληρὰν καὶ δύσφορον· καθ'
ὅ τι γὰρ ἂν προσκόψῃ φερόμενος ὁ ἦχος, αὐτοῦ λαμβάνει
τὴν κατάπαυσιν καὶ οὐκέτι περαιοῦται πρὸς τὸν ἔξω τόπον,
ὥστε κωφοὺς καὶ ἀνωμάλους ἐκπίπτειν τοὺς ἤχους ἐκ τῶν
30 τοιούτων κεράτων. ὅτι δὲ ἡ φορὰ γίγνεται κατὰ τὴν εὐθυπορίαν,
φανερόν ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῶν ἱστῶν καὶ ὅλως ἐπὶ τῶν ξύλων
τῶν μεγάλων, ὅταν αὐτὰ βασανίζωσιν. ὅταν γὰρ κρούσωσιν
ἐκ τοῦ ἑτέρου ἄκρου, κατὰ τὸ ἕτερον ὁ ἦχος φέρεται συνεχής,
ἐὰν μή τι ἔχῃ σύντριμμα τὸ ξύλον· εἰ δὲ μή,
35 μέχρι τούτου προελθὼν αὐτοῦ καταπαύεται διασπασθείς. περικάμπτει
δὲ καὶ τοὺς ὄζους, καὶ οὐ δυνατὸς δι' αὐτῶν εὐθυπορεῖν.
κατάδηλον δὲ τοῦτό ἐστι καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν χαλκείων,
ὅταν ῥινῶσι τὰς ἀπηρτημένας στολίδας τῶν ἀνδριάντων ἢ
τὰ πτερύγια, τῷ συμμύειν· διὸ ῥοῖζον καὶ πολὺν ἦχον
40 ἀφιᾶσι καὶ ψόφον. ἂν δέ τις αὐτὰ ταινίᾳ διαδήσῃ,
παύεσθαι συμβαίνει τὸν ἦχον· ἕως γὰρ τούτου προελθὼν
ὁ τρόμος, ὅταν προσκόψῃ πρὸς τὸ μαλακόν, αὐτοῦ ποιεῖται
1In the case of oboes and other instruments of the same class, the sounds produced are clear when the breath emitted το from them is concentrated and intense. For the impacts on the external air must be of this kind, and it is in this way that they will best travel to 5the ear in a solid mass. Similarly, in the case of odours and light and the various forms of heat, the weaker they are, the less definite is the impression which they convey to the sense-perception, just as juices are weaker when mixed with water or with other juices. Any second ingredient which makes itself felt obscures the power 10of the original object.
In contrast to all other musical instruments the notes produced by horns, if they strike the air in a solid and continuous mass, are indistinct. Therefore the horn which you choose ought to be one the nature of whose growth is regular and smooth, and which does not shoot up quickly. For such horns as shoot 15up quickly must necessarily be too soft and spongy, so that the notes are dispersed and do not pass out in a solid mass, nor do they produce a consistent sound owing to the softness of the horn and the sponginess caused by the pores. On the other hand, the horn must not be of too slowly growing a kind, nor must it be of a thick, 20hard consistency and lacking in resonance ;? for, if the sound in its passage strikes against anything, it is arrested at that point and ceases to advance on its outward course, so that the notes which proceed from such horns are dull and irregular. That the direction taken by sound follows a straight line is clear from the way in 25which carpenters test beams and large timber in general. For when they strike one end, the sound passes along continuously to the other end unless the wood has some flaw: in it; if it has a flaw, the sound travels along up to that point and there ceases and is dispersed. It passes round the knots in the wood and cannot continue in a 30straight course through them. The point can also be illustrated from what happens in bronze-working when they are filing down the loosely hanging folds of drapery or the wings of statues ; the cracks close up, so that the metal gives out a rasping sound and causes a considerable noise; but the sound immediately ceases if you tie a 35band round the folds; for the vibration continues till it strikes the soft material and is there checked.
The baking of horns contributes greatly to the excellence ” of their tone; for, when they are well baked, they produce a sound very like that of pottery, owing to the hardness caused by the heat; whilst, if they are not sufficiently 40baked, the sound which they make is too gentle owing to the softness of the horn, and they cannot produce such well-defined notes.
In contrast to all other musical instruments the notes produced by horns, if they strike the air in a solid and continuous mass, are indistinct. Therefore the horn which you choose ought to be one the nature of whose growth is regular and smooth, and which does not shoot up quickly. For such horns as shoot 15up quickly must necessarily be too soft and spongy, so that the notes are dispersed and do not pass out in a solid mass, nor do they produce a consistent sound owing to the softness of the horn and the sponginess caused by the pores. On the other hand, the horn must not be of too slowly growing a kind, nor must it be of a thick, 20hard consistency and lacking in resonance ;? for, if the sound in its passage strikes against anything, it is arrested at that point and ceases to advance on its outward course, so that the notes which proceed from such horns are dull and irregular. That the direction taken by sound follows a straight line is clear from the way in 25which carpenters test beams and large timber in general. For when they strike one end, the sound passes along continuously to the other end unless the wood has some flaw: in it; if it has a flaw, the sound travels along up to that point and there ceases and is dispersed. It passes round the knots in the wood and cannot continue in a 30straight course through them. The point can also be illustrated from what happens in bronze-working when they are filing down the loosely hanging folds of drapery or the wings of statues ; the cracks close up, so that the metal gives out a rasping sound and causes a considerable noise; but the sound immediately ceases if you tie a 35band round the folds; for the vibration continues till it strikes the soft material and is there checked.
The baking of horns contributes greatly to the excellence ” of their tone; for, when they are well baked, they produce a sound very like that of pottery, owing to the hardness caused by the heat; whilst, if they are not sufficiently 40baked, the sound which they make is too gentle owing to the softness of the horn, and they cannot produce such well-defined notes.
802b
1 τὴν κατάπαυσιν. πολὺ δὲ καὶ ἡ ὄπτησις ἡ τῶν κεράτων
συμβάλλεται καὶ πρὸς εὐφωνίαν. μᾶλλον μὲν γὰρ κατοπτηθέντα
παραπλήσιον τὸν ἦχον ἔχουσι τῷ κεράμῳ διὰ
τὴν σκληρότητα καὶ τὴν σύγκαυσιν· ἐὰν δέ τις αὐτὰ καταδεέστερον
5 ὀπτήσῃ, ἁπαλώτερον μὲν ἀφίησι διὰ τὴν μαλακότητα
τὸν ἦχον, οὐ δύναται δὲ γεγωνεῖν ὁμοίως. διὸ
καὶ τὰς ἡλικίας ἐκλέγονται· τὰ μὲν γὰρ τῶν γερόντων
ἐστὶ ξηρὰ καὶ πεπωρωμένα καὶ χαῦνα, τὰ δὲ τῶν νέων
ἁπαλὰ παντελῶς καὶ πολλὴν ἔχοντα ἐν αὑτοῖς ὑγρασίαν.
10 δεῖ δὲ εἶναι, καθάπερ εἴρηται, τὸ κέρας ξηρὸν καὶ πυκνὸν
ὁμαλῶς καὶ εὐθύπορον καὶ λεῖον. οὕτω γὰρ ἂν μάλιστα
συμβαίνοι καὶ τοὺς ἤχους πυκνοὺς καὶ λείους καὶ ὁμαλοὺς
φέρεσθαι δι' αὐτῶν, καὶ τοῦ ἔξωθεν ἀέρος τὰς πληγὰς γίγνεσθαι
τοιαύτας, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν χορδῶν εἰσὶν αἱ λειόταται
15 βέλτισται καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν ὁμαλώταται, καὶ τὴν κατεργασίαν
ἔχουσι πάντοθεν ὁμοίαν, καὶ τὰς συμβολὰς ἀδήλους
τὰς τῶν νεύρων· οὕτω γὰρ συμβαίνει καὶ ταύτας ποιεῖσθαι
τὰς τοῦ ἀέρος πληγὰς ὁμοιοτάτας. δεῖ δὲ καὶ τῶν αὐλῶν
εἶναι τὰς γλώττας πυκνὰς καὶ λείας καὶ ὁμαλάς, ὅπως
20 ἂν καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα διαπορεύηται δι' αὐτῶν λεῖον καὶ ὁμαλὸν
καὶ μὴ διεσπασμένον. διὸ καὶ τὰ βεβρεγμένα τῶν
ζευγῶν καὶ τὰ πεπωκότα τὸ σίαλον εὐφωνότερα γίγνεται,
τὰ δὲ ξηρὰ κακόφωνα. ὁ γὰρ ἀὴρ διὰ ὑγροῦ καὶ λείου
φέρεται μαλακὸς καὶ ὁμαλός. δῆλον δέ· καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸ
25 τὸ πνεῦμα, ὅταν ἔχῃ νοτίδα, πολὺ ἧττον προσκόπτει πρὸς
τὰ ζεύγη καὶ διασπᾶται· τὸ δὲ ξηρὸν μᾶλλον ἀντιλαμβάνεται
καὶ τὴν πληγὴν ποιεῖται σκληροτέραν διὰ τὴν
βίαν. αἱ μὲν οὖν διαφοραὶ τῶν ἤχων γίγνονται διὰ τὰς
εἰρημένας αἰτίας. σκληραὶ δ' εἰσὶ τῶν φωνῶν ὅσαι βιαίως
30 πρὸς τὴν ἀκοὴν προσπίπτουσι· διὸ καὶ μάλιστα παρέχουσι
τὸν τόνον. τοιαῦται δ' εἰσὶν αἱ δυσκινητότεραι καὶ μετὰ
πλείστης φερόμεναι βίας· τὸ γὰρ ὑπεῖκον ταχέως οὐ δύναται
τὴν πληγὴν ὑπομένειν, ἀλλ' ἀποπηδᾷ πρότερον. δῆλον
δέ· τὰ γὰρ ὑπέρογκα τῶν βελῶν βιαιοτάτην φέρεται τὴν
35 φοράν, καὶ τὰ ῥεύματα φερόμενα διὰ τῶν εὐρίπων· καὶ
γὰρ ταῦτα γίγνεται σφοδρότατα περὶ αὐτὰς τὰς στενοχωρίας
οὐ δυνάμενα ταχέως ὑπείκειν, ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ πολλῆς
ὠθούμενα βίας. ὁμοίως δὲ τοῦτο συμβαίνει καὶ περὶ τὰς
φωνὰς καὶ τοὺς ψόφους. φανερὸν δ' ἐστίν· πάντες γὰρ οἱ
40 βίαιοι γίγνονται σκληροί, καθάπερ καὶ τῶν κιβωτίων καὶ
τῶν στροφέων, ὅταν ἀνοίγωνται βιαίως, καὶ τοῦ χαλκοῦ καὶ
τοῦ σιδήρου. καὶ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀκμόνων γίγνεται σκληρὸς
1Men, therefore, choose the ages of their horns; the horns of old animals are dry and callous and porous, while those of young animals are quite soft and contain a considerable amount of moisture. As we have said, a horn should be dry, of uniform thickness, 5with straight pores and a smooth surface ; for if it be so, the notes which pass through it will be full and smooth and even, and the impacts which they make upon the outer air will have the same qualities. For those strings too are best which are smoothest and most even all along, and show the same workmanship 10throughout, and in which the joining of the gut is not visible; for then the impacts which they make upon the air are most even.
The reeds of oboes, too, must be solid and smooth and even, so that the breath may pass through smoothly and evenly, without being dispersed. Therefore mouthpieces which have been well steeped 15and soaked in grease give a pleasant sound, while those which are dry produce less agreeable notes. For the air passes softly and evenly through a moist and smooth instrument. This is clear from the fact that the breath itself, when it contains some a5 moisture, is less likely to strike against the mouthpiece and 20become dispersed; while dry breath is inclined to catch in the oboe, and the impact which it causes is too hard owing to the force necessary to expel it. Differences, then, in sound arise from the above causes.
Hard voices are those which strike forcibly upon the hearing ; for which reason they are particularly unpleasing 25—those, that is to say, which are difficult to start, but which when once started travel with added force—for any quickly yielding body which comes in the way fails to abide the impact and quickly springs aside. To take an illustration of this; heavy missiles travel along with force, as do streams when they pass 30through narrow channels, for they acquire very considerable force in the actual straits, because they cannot yield to restraint all in a moment, but are driven violently along. The same thing happens in the case of articulate and inarticulate sounds. For clearly all forceful sounds are hard; as, for instance, 4o those 35caused by the forcible opening of boxes and turning of hinges, and those made by bronze and iron. For the sound made on the anvil is hard+ when the iron that is being forged is chilled and has become hard. So, too, is the noise from the file, when they are filing iron implements and making teeth in saws. The most 40violent claps of thunder, too, produce very hard sounds, and those showers which from their violence we call ‘ tearing’ showers.
The reeds of oboes, too, must be solid and smooth and even, so that the breath may pass through smoothly and evenly, without being dispersed. Therefore mouthpieces which have been well steeped 15and soaked in grease give a pleasant sound, while those which are dry produce less agreeable notes. For the air passes softly and evenly through a moist and smooth instrument. This is clear from the fact that the breath itself, when it contains some a5 moisture, is less likely to strike against the mouthpiece and 20become dispersed; while dry breath is inclined to catch in the oboe, and the impact which it causes is too hard owing to the force necessary to expel it. Differences, then, in sound arise from the above causes.
Hard voices are those which strike forcibly upon the hearing ; for which reason they are particularly unpleasing 25—those, that is to say, which are difficult to start, but which when once started travel with added force—for any quickly yielding body which comes in the way fails to abide the impact and quickly springs aside. To take an illustration of this; heavy missiles travel along with force, as do streams when they pass 30through narrow channels, for they acquire very considerable force in the actual straits, because they cannot yield to restraint all in a moment, but are driven violently along. The same thing happens in the case of articulate and inarticulate sounds. For clearly all forceful sounds are hard; as, for instance, 4o those 35caused by the forcible opening of boxes and turning of hinges, and those made by bronze and iron. For the sound made on the anvil is hard+ when the iron that is being forged is chilled and has become hard. So, too, is the noise from the file, when they are filing iron implements and making teeth in saws. The most 40violent claps of thunder, too, produce very hard sounds, and those showers which from their violence we call ‘ tearing’ showers.
803a
1 καὶ μαλακός, ὅταν ἐλαύνωσι κατεψυγμένον καὶ σκληρὸν
ἤδη τὸν σίδηρον. ἔτι δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ῥίνης, ὅταν ῥινῶσι καὶ
χαράττωσι τὰ σιδήρια καὶ τοὺς πρίονας, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν βροντῶν
αἱ βιαιόταται γίγνονται σκληρόταται καὶ τῶν ὑδάτων
5 τὰ καλούμενα ῥαγδαῖα τὴν βίαν. ἡ μὲν γὰρ ταχυτὴς τοῦ
πνεύματος ποιεῖ τὴν φωνὴν ὀξεῖαν, ἡ δὲ βία σκληράν.
διόπερ οὐ μόνον συμβαίνει τοὺς αὐτοὺς ὁτὲ μὲν ὀξυτέραν ὁτὲ
δὲ βαρυτέραν, ἀλλὰ καὶ σκληροτέραν καὶ μαλακωτέραν.
καίτοι τινὲς ὑπολαμβάνουσι διὰ τὴν σκληρότητα τῶν ἀρτηριῶν
10 τὰς φωνὰς γίγνεσθαι σκληράς, διαμαρτάνοντες· τοῦτο
μὲν γὰρ βραχύ τι συμβάλλεται παντελῶς, ἀλλ' ἡ τοῦ
πνεύματος γιγνομένη πληγὴ βιαίως ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύμονος.
ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ τὰ σώματα τῶν μέν ἐστιν ὑγρὰ καὶ μαλακὰ
τῶν δὲ σκληρὰ καὶ σύντονα, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ
15 ὁ πνεύμων. διόπερ τῶν μὲν μαλακὸν ἐκπίπτει τὸ πνεῦμα,
τῶν δὲ σκληρὸν καὶ βίαιον, ἐπεὶ διότι γε τὴν ἀρτηρίαν
αὐτὴν μικράν τινα συμβαίνει παρέχεσθαι δύναμιν, ῥᾴδιον
συνιδεῖν. ὀυδεμία γάρ ἐστιν ἀρτηρία σκληρὰ τοῖς αὐλοῖς
ὁμοίως· ἀλλ' οὐθὲν ἧττον δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ διὰ τούτων φερομένου
20 τοῦ πνεύματος οἱ μὲν μαλακῶς αὐλοῦσιν οἱ δὲ σκληρῶς.
δῆλον δὲ τοῦτ' ἐστὶ καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῆς τῆς αἰσθήσεως· καὶ γὰρ
ἂν ἐπιτείνῃ τις τὸ πνεῦμα βιαιότερον, εὐθέως ἡ φωνὴ
γίγνεται σκληροτέρα διὰ τὴν βίαν, κἂν ᾖ μαλακωτέρα.
τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς σάλπιγγος· διὸ καὶ
25 πάντες, ὅταν κωμάζωσιν, ἀνιᾶσιν ἐν τῇ σάλπιγγι τὴν τοῦ
πνεύματος συντονίαν, ὅπως ἂν ποιῶσι τὸν ἦχον ὡς μαλακώτατον.
φανερὸν δ' ἐστὶ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὀργάνων. καὶ
γὰρ αἱ κατεστραμμέναι χορδαί, καθάπερ εἴρηται, τὰς φωνὰς
ποιοῦσι σκληροτέρας, καὶ τὰ κατωπτημένα τῶν κεράτων.
30 κἄν τις ἅπτηται τῶν χορδῶν ταῖς χερσὶ βιαίως καὶ
μὴ μαλακῶς, ἀνάγκη καὶ τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν αὐτὰς οὕτω
πάλιν ποιεῖσθαι βιαιοτέραν. αἱ δὲ ἧττον κατεστραμμέναι
καὶ τὰ ὠμότερα τῶν κεράτων τὰς φωνὰς ποιεῖ μαλακωτέρας,
καὶ τὰ μακρότερα τῶν ὀργάνων. αἱ γὰρ τοῦ ἀέρος
35 πληγαὶ καὶ βραδύτεραι καὶ μαλακώτεραι γίγνονται διὰ
τὰ μήκη τῶν τόπων, αἱ δ' ἐπὶ τῶν βαρυτέρων σκληρόταται
διὰ τὴν κατάτασιν τῶν χορδῶν. δῆλον δ' ἐστίν· καὶ
γὰρ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ὀργάνου σκληροτέρας συμβαίνει γίγνεσθαι τὰς
φωνάς, ὅταν μὴ κατὰ μέσον τις ἅπτηται τῶν χορδῶν,
40 διὰ τὸ μᾶλλον αὐτῶν τὰ πρὸς αὐτῷ τῷ ζυγῷ καὶ τῷ
χορδοτόνῳ κατατετάσθαι. συμβαίνει δὲ καὶ τὰ ναρθήκινα
τῶν ὀργάνων τὰς φωνὰς ἔχειν ἁπαλωτέρας· οἱ γὰρ ἦχοι
1It is quickness of breathing which makes the voice shrill, | force which makes it hard. So it happens that the same individuals have not only sometimes a shriller and at other times a deeper voice, but also at times a harder and at times a softer voice. Yet some people 5hold that it is owing το to the hardness of the windpipe that the voice becomes hard. In this they are wrong; for, though this may be quite a slight contributing cause, the real reason is the force of the impact caused by the breath from the lungs. For as some men’s bodies are moist and soft, while those of others are hard and closely 10knit, so do their lungs show variety. Therefore in some cases the breath which comes forth is soft, in others it is hard and violent ; for it is easy to see at a glance that the windpipe by itself exercises ? *1. Omitting καὶ μαλακός, which is due to σκληροτέραν καὶ μαλακωτέραν, |, 8 below.
but little influence. For no windpipe is 15of the hard consistency of an oboe; yet for all that, by passing the breath through the former and through the latter, some people produce soft and others hard tones on the oboe.’ This is .clear from the direct perception; for, if by using greater force one increases the strength of the breathing, the voice immediately becomes harder 20as a result of the force applied, even if it be naturally a somewhat soft voice. So, too, in the case of the trumpet; when they are revelling! men relax the pressure of breath in the trumpet in order to make the sound as soft as possible. The point can also be illustrated from other classes of musical instruments ;? as has been stated, 25the sounds produced by tightly stretched strings are hard, as are the notes of horns which have been well baked. If one touches the strings violently instead of softly with the hand, they necessarily respond with more violent sounds. The notes produced by less tightly stretched strings and unbaked horns are softer, as are those produced 30by the longer musical instruments; for the impacts upon the air are both slower and softer owing to the distance that the sound has to travel, whereas in the shorter instruments they are harder owing to the tension of the strings. That this is so is shown by the fact that the sounds which the instrument itself gives forth are harder 35when one does not strike the string in the middle, because there is more strain upon the parts of the strings near the crossbar and near the pegs. The notes produced by instruments made of fennel-wood are softer; for the sounds striking on a soft material do not rebound with such ° violence.
| Voices are rough when the impact of 40all the breath upon the air is not single and simultaneous but divided and -_ broken. For each portion of the air striking separately -.
but little influence. For no windpipe is 15of the hard consistency of an oboe; yet for all that, by passing the breath through the former and through the latter, some people produce soft and others hard tones on the oboe.’ This is .clear from the direct perception; for, if by using greater force one increases the strength of the breathing, the voice immediately becomes harder 20as a result of the force applied, even if it be naturally a somewhat soft voice. So, too, in the case of the trumpet; when they are revelling! men relax the pressure of breath in the trumpet in order to make the sound as soft as possible. The point can also be illustrated from other classes of musical instruments ;? as has been stated, 25the sounds produced by tightly stretched strings are hard, as are the notes of horns which have been well baked. If one touches the strings violently instead of softly with the hand, they necessarily respond with more violent sounds. The notes produced by less tightly stretched strings and unbaked horns are softer, as are those produced 30by the longer musical instruments; for the impacts upon the air are both slower and softer owing to the distance that the sound has to travel, whereas in the shorter instruments they are harder owing to the tension of the strings. That this is so is shown by the fact that the sounds which the instrument itself gives forth are harder 35when one does not strike the string in the middle, because there is more strain upon the parts of the strings near the crossbar and near the pegs. The notes produced by instruments made of fennel-wood are softer; for the sounds striking on a soft material do not rebound with such ° violence.
| Voices are rough when the impact of 40all the breath upon the air is not single and simultaneous but divided and -_ broken. For each portion of the air striking separately -.
803b
1 πρὸς μαλακὸν προσπίπτοντες οὐχ ὁμοίως ἀποπηδῶσι μετὰ
βίας. τραχύνεσθαι δὲ συμβαίνει τὰς φωνάς, ὅταν ἡ πληγὴ
μὴ μία γένηται τοῦ ἀέρος παντός, ἀλλὰ πολλαχῇ κατὰ
μικρὰ διεσπασμένη. καθ' αὑτὸ γὰρ ἕκαστον τῶν τοῦ ἀέρος
5 μορίων προσπῖπτον πρὸς τὴν ἀκοήν, ὡς ἂν ἀπὸ πληγῆς
ἑτέρας ὄν, διεσπασμένην ποιεῖ τὴν αἴσθησιν, ὥστε τὴν μὲν
διαλείπειν τὴν φωνήν, τὴν δὲ προσπίπτειν βιαιότερον, καὶ
γίγνεσθαι τὴν ἁφὴν τῆς ἀκοῆς ἀνομοίαν, ὥσπερ καὶ ὅταν
τι τῶν τραχέων ἡμῖν προσπίπτῃ πρὸς τὸν χρῶτα. μάλιστα
10 δὲ τοῦτο συμφανές ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῆς ῥίνης· διὰ γὰρ τὸ τὴν τοῦ
ἀέρος πληγὴν ἅμα γίγνεσθαι κατὰ μικρὰ καὶ πολλά,
τραχεῖς οἱ ψόφοι προσπίπτουσιν ἀπ' αὐτῶν πρὸς τὴν ἀκοήν,
καὶ μᾶλλον, ὅταν πρὸς σκληρόν τι παρατρίβωνται, καθάπερ
καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἁφῆς· τὰ γὰρ σκληρὰ καὶ τραχέα βιαιότερον
15 ποιεῖται τὴν αἴσθησιν. δῆλον δὲ τοῦτό ἐστι καὶ ἐπὶ
τῶν ῥευμάτων· τοῦ γὰρ ἐλαίου γίνεται πολὺ πάντων τῶν
ὑγρῶν ὁ ψόφος ἀδηλότερος διὰ τὴν συνέχειαν τὴν τῶν
μορίων. λεπταὶ δ' εἰσὶ τῶν φωνῶν, ὅταν ὀλίγον ᾖ τὸ
πνεῦμα τὸ ἐκπῖπτον. διὸ καὶ τῶν παιδίων γίγνονται
20 λεπταί, καὶ τῶν γυναικῶν καὶ τῶν εὐνούχων, ὁμοίως δὲ
καὶ τῶν διαλελυμένων διὰ νόσον ἢ πόνον ἢ ἀτροφίαν· οὐ
δύνανται γὰρ πολὺ τὸ πνεῦμα διὰ τὴν ἀσθένειαν ἐκπέμπειν.
δῆλον δ' ἐστὶ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν χορδῶν· ἀπὸ γὰρ τῶν
λεπτῶν καὶ τὰ φωνία γίγνεται λεπτὰ καὶ στενὰ καὶ τριχώδη,
25 διὰ τὸ καὶ τοῦ ἀέρος τὴν πληγὴν γίγνεσθαι κατὰ
στενόν. οἵας γὰρ ἂν τὰς ἀρχὰς ἔχωσι τῆς κινήσεως αἱ τοῦ
ἀέρος πληγαί, τοιαύτας καὶ τὰς φωνὰς συμβαίνει γίγνεσθαι
προσπιπτούσας πρὸς τὴν ἀκοήν, οἷον ἀραιὰς ἢ πυκνάς,
ἢ μαλακὰς ἢ σκληράς, ἢ λεπτὰς ἢ παχείας. ἀεὶ γὰρ ὁ
30 ἕτερος ἀὴρ τὸν ἕτερον κινῶν ὡσαύτως ποιεῖ τὴν φωνὴν ἅπασαν
ὁμοίαν, καθάπερ ἔχει καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ὀξύτητος καὶ τῆς
βαρύτητος· καὶ γὰρ τὰ τάχη τὰ τῆς πληγῆς τὰ ἕτερα τοῖς
ἑτέροις συνακολουθοῦντα διαφυλάττει τὰς φωνὰς ταῖς ἀρχαῖς
ὁμοίως. αἱ δὲ πληγαὶ γίνονται μὲν τοῦ ἀέρος ὑπὸ τῶν
35 χορδῶν πολλαὶ καὶ κεχωρισμέναι, διὰ δὲ μικρότητα τοῦ
μεταξὺ χρόνου τῆς ἀκοῆς οὐ δυναμένης συναισθάνεσθαι τὰς
διαλείψεις, μία καὶ συνεχὴς ἡμῖν ἡ φωνὴ φαίνεται, καθάπερ
καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν χρωμάτων· καὶ γὰρ τούτων τὰ διεστηκότα
δοκεῖ πολλάκις ἡμῖν συνάπτειν ἀλλήλοις, ὅταν φέρωνται
40 ταχέως. τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ συμβαίνει τοῦτο καὶ περὶ τὰς συμφωνίας.
διὰ γὰρ τὸ περισυγκαταλαμβάνεσθαι τοὺς ἑτέρους
ἤχους ὑπὸ τῶν ἑτέρων, καὶ γίγνεσθαι τὰς καταπαύσεις αὐτῶν
1upon the hearing—as if each were moved by a different ᾿ς impact—the sense-impression is broken, so that one vocal _utterance fails to produce any sound, while another strikes bo with great violence upon the ear, and the contact with the hearing is not evenly sustained; just as when 5a rough object touches the skin. This can be best illustrated from το the file;. for, when a file is being used, the air is set in motion simultaneously at a number of separate minute, points, and so the sounds passing from these points to strike the ear seem rough, and especially so when the file is scraped against a hard substance. One may compare 10the sense of touch; hard, rough objects produce stronger + tactual impressions. The matter can also be illustrated from the pouring of liquids, for the sound made by olive-oil is less noticeable than that made by any other liquid, owing to the unbroken continuity of the parts which compose it. Voices are thin, when the breath that is emitted is 15small in quantity. Children’s voices, therefore, are thin, and those of women and eunuchs, and in like manner those of persons who are enfeebled by disease or over-exertion or want of nourishment; for owing to their weakness they cannot expel the breath in large quantities, The same thing may be seen in the case of stringed instruments; the sounds produced 20from thin strings are thin and narrow and ‘ fine as hairs’, because the impacts upon the air have only a narrow surface of origin. For the sounds.that are produced and strike on the ear are of the same quality as the source of movement which gives rise to the impacts; for example, they are spongy or solid, soft or hard, thin or full. For one 25portion of the air striking upon another portion of the air preserves the quality of the sound, as is the case also in respect of shrillness and depth; for the quick impulsions of the air caused by the impact, quickly succeeding one another, preserve the quality of the voice, as it was in its first origin. Now the impacts upon the air from strings are 30many and are distinct from one another, but because, owing to the shortness of the intermittence, the ear cannot appreciate the intervals, the sound appears to us to be united and continuous. The same thing is the case with colours; for separate coloured objects appear to join, when they are moved rapidly before our eyes. The ? 80314. Reading βιαιοτέραν 35for βιαιότερον.
same thing happens, too, when two notes form a concord ; for owing to the fact that the two notes overlap and include one another and cease at the same moment, the inter8042 mediate constituent sounds escape our notice. For in all . concords more frequent impacts upon the air are caused by the shriller note, owing to the quickness 40of its movement; the result is that the last note strikes upon our hearing simultaneously with an carlier sound produced by the slower impact.
same thing happens, too, when two notes form a concord ; for owing to the fact that the two notes overlap and include one another and cease at the same moment, the inter8042 mediate constituent sounds escape our notice. For in all . concords more frequent impacts upon the air are caused by the shriller note, owing to the quickness 40of its movement; the result is that the last note strikes upon our hearing simultaneously with an carlier sound produced by the slower impact.
804a
1 ἅμα, λανθάνουσιν ἡμᾶς αἱ μεταξὺ γιγνόμεναι φωναί.
πλεονάκις μὲν γὰρ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς συμφωνίαις ὑπὸ τῶν
ὀξυτέρων φθόγγων αἱ τοῦ ἀέρος γίγνονται πληγαὶ διὰ τὸ
τάχος τῆς κινήσεως· τὸν δὲ τελευταῖον τῶν ἤχων ἅμα
5 συμβαίνει προσπίπτειν ἡμῖν πρὸς τὴν ἀκοὴν καὶ τὸν ἀπὸ
τῆς βραδυτέρας γιγνόμενον. ὥστε τῆς ἀκοῆς οὐ δυναμένης
αἰσθάνεσθαι, καθάπερ εἴρηται, τὰς μεταξὺ φωνάς, ἅμα
δοκοῦμεν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν φθόγγων ἀκούειν συνεχῶς. παχεῖαι
δ' εἰσὶ τῶν φωνῶν τοὐναντίον, ὅταν ᾖ τὸ πνεῦμα πολὺ
10 καὶ ἀθρόον ἐκπῖπτον· διὸ καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν εἰσὶ παχύτεραι
καὶ τῶν τελείων αὐλῶν, καὶ μᾶλλον ὅταν πληρώσῃ τις
αὐτοὺς τοῦ πνεύματος. φανερὸν δ' ἐστίν· καὶ γὰρ ἂν πιέσῃ
τις τὰ ζεύγη, μᾶλλον ὀξυτέρα ἡ φωνὴ γίγνεται καὶ
λεπτοτέρα. κἂν κατασπάσῃ τις τὰς σύριγγας, κἂν δὲ
15 ἐπιλάβῃ, παμπλείων ὁ ὄγκος γίγνεται τῆς φωνῆς διὰ τὸ
πλῆθος τοῦ πνεύματος, καθάπερ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν παχυτέρων
χορδῶν. παχεῖαι δὲ γίγνονται καὶ τῶν τραγιζόντων καὶ
τῶν βραγχιώντων, καὶ μετὰ τοὺς ἐμέτους, διὰ τὴν τραχύτητα
τῆς ἀρτηρίας καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ὑπεξάγειν ἀλλ' αὐτοῦ
20 προσκόπτουσαν ἀνειλεῖσθαι τὴν φωνὴν καὶ λαμβάνειν ὄγκον,
καὶ μάλιστα διὰ τὴν ὑγρότητα τοῦ σώματος. λιγυραὶ δ'
εἰσὶ τῶν φωνῶν αἱ λεπταὶ καὶ πυκναί, καθάπερ καὶ ἐπὶ
τῶν τεττίγων καὶ τῶν ἀκρίδων καὶ αἱ τῶν ἀηδόνων, καὶ
ὅλως ὅσαις λεπταῖς οὔσαις μηθεὶς ἀλλότριος ἦχος παρακολουθεῖ.
25 ὅλως γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν οὔτ' ἐν ὄγκῳ φωνῆς τὸ λιγυρόν,
οὔτ' ἐν τόνοις ἀνιεμένοις καὶ βαρέσιν, οὔτ' ἐν ταῖς τῶν
φθόγγων ἁφαῖς, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ὀξύτητι καὶ λεπτότητι
καὶ ἀκριβείᾳ. διὸ καὶ τῶν ὀργάνων τὰ λεπτὰ καὶ σύντονα
καὶ μὴ ἔχοντα κέρας τὰς φωνὰς ἔχει λιγυρωτέρας·
30 ὁ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν ὑδάτων ἦχος, καὶ ὅλως ὅταν ἀπό τινος
γιγνόμενος παρακολουθῇ, συνέχει τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τὴν τῶν
φθόγγων. σαθραὶ δ' εἰσὶ καὶ παρερρυηκυῖαι τῶν φωνῶν
ὅσαι μέχρι τινὸς φερόμεναι συνεχεῖς διασπῶνται. φανερώτατον
δὲ τοῦτ' ἐστὶν ἐπὶ τοῦ κεράμου· πᾶς γὰρ ὁ ἐκ
35 πληγῆς ῥαγεὶς ποιεῖ τὸν ἦχον σαθρόν, διασπωμένης τῆς
κινήσεως κατὰ τὴν πληγήν, ὥστε μηκέτι γίγνεσθαι τοὺς ἐκπίπτοντας
ἤχους συνεχεῖς. ὁμοίως δὲ τοῦτο συμβαίνει καὶ
ἐπὶ τῶν ἐρρωγότων κεράτων καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν χορδῶν τῶν παρανενευρισμένων.
ἐπὶ πάντων γὰρ τῶν τοιούτων μέχρι μέν
1Thus, because, as has been said, the ear cannot perceive all the constituent sounds, we seem to hear both notes together and continuously.
Thick sounds, on the contrary, are produced when the breath is emitted in great quantity and all 5together. Therefore the voices of men are inclined to be thick, and the notes of the so-called ‘ perfect ’ oboes, especially when the latter are well filled with air. This is clear from the fact that if you compress the mouthpiece the sound tends to become shrill and thin, as also if one draws 10the ‘ speaker’ downwards;! but if one stops up the exits, the volume of the sound becomes far greater owing to the amount of breath collected 1; in the instrument, like the notes produced from thicker strings. The sounds uttered by those whose voices are breaking and persons suffering from 15sore-throats, and after vomiting, are thick owing to the roughness of the windpipe and the fact that the voice does not escape, but striking upon it is pent up and acquires volume; and above all, owing to the moist condition of the body.
Piping voices are those which are thin and concentrated, such as 20those of grasshoppers and locusts and the nightingale’s song, and, generally speaking, cries which are thin, and are not followed by a second and different sound. For this piping quality does not depend on volume of sound ο on nor on the tones being without tension and deep, nor yet upon the 25close sequence of the sounds, but rather upon shrillness and thinness and accuracy. Therefore it is the instruments which are lightly constructed and tightly stretched, and those which have no horn-work about them, that produce piping notes. The sound of running water, and generally speaking, any 30sound which, whatever its cause, keeps up an unbroken continuity, preserve the accuracy of their tone.
Cracked voices which suddenly give way a are those which travel along in a solid mass for a certain distance and then become dispersed. The best illustration may be taken from an earthenware 35vessel; every such vessel when broken as the result of a blow gives forth a cracked sound, for the course of the sound is broken at the point at which the blow was struck, so that the sounds which it gives forth no longer form a solid mass.
Thick sounds, on the contrary, are produced when the breath is emitted in great quantity and all 5together. Therefore the voices of men are inclined to be thick, and the notes of the so-called ‘ perfect ’ oboes, especially when the latter are well filled with air. This is clear from the fact that if you compress the mouthpiece the sound tends to become shrill and thin, as also if one draws 10the ‘ speaker’ downwards;! but if one stops up the exits, the volume of the sound becomes far greater owing to the amount of breath collected 1; in the instrument, like the notes produced from thicker strings. The sounds uttered by those whose voices are breaking and persons suffering from 15sore-throats, and after vomiting, are thick owing to the roughness of the windpipe and the fact that the voice does not escape, but striking upon it is pent up and acquires volume; and above all, owing to the moist condition of the body.
Piping voices are those which are thin and concentrated, such as 20those of grasshoppers and locusts and the nightingale’s song, and, generally speaking, cries which are thin, and are not followed by a second and different sound. For this piping quality does not depend on volume of sound ο on nor on the tones being without tension and deep, nor yet upon the 25close sequence of the sounds, but rather upon shrillness and thinness and accuracy. Therefore it is the instruments which are lightly constructed and tightly stretched, and those which have no horn-work about them, that produce piping notes. The sound of running water, and generally speaking, any 30sound which, whatever its cause, keeps up an unbroken continuity, preserve the accuracy of their tone.
Cracked voices which suddenly give way a are those which travel along in a solid mass for a certain distance and then become dispersed. The best illustration may be taken from an earthenware 35vessel; every such vessel when broken as the result of a blow gives forth a cracked sound, for the course of the sound is broken at the point at which the blow was struck, so that the sounds which it gives forth no longer form a solid mass.
804b
1 τινος ὁ ἦχος φέρεται συνεχής, ἔπειτα διασπᾶται, καθ' ὅ
τι ἂν ᾖ μὴ συνεχὲς τὸ ὑποκείμενον, ὥστε μὴ μίαν γίγνεσθαι
πληγὴν ἀλλὰ διεσπασμένην, καὶ φαίνεσθαι τὸν ἦχον
σαθρόν. σχεδὸν γὰρ παραπλήσιαι τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι ταῖς
5 τραχείαις· πλὴν ἐκεῖναι μέν εἰσιν ἀπ' ἀλλήλων κατὰ μικρὰ
μέρη διεσπασμέναι, τῶν δὲ σαθρῶν αἱ πλεῖσται τὰς
μὲν ἀρχὰς ἔχουσι συνεχεῖς, ἔπειτ' εἰς πλείω μέρη τὴν διαίρεσιν
λαμβάνουσιν. δασεῖαι δ' εἰσὶ τῶν φωνῶν ὅσαις ἔσωθεν
τὸ πνεῦμα εὐθέως συνεκβάλλομεν μετὰ τῶν φθόγγων,
10 ψιλαὶ δ' εἰσὶ τοὐναντίον ὅσαι γίγνονται χωρὶς τῆς τοῦ πνεύματος
ἐκβολῆς. ἀπορρήγνυσθαι δὲ συμβαίνει τὰς φωνάς,
ὅταν μηκέτι δύνωνται τὸν ἀέρα μετὰ πληγῆς ἐκπέμπειν,
ἀλλ' ὁ περὶ τὸν πνεύμονα τόπος αὐτῶν ὑπὸ τῆς διαστάσεως
ἐκλυθῇ. ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ τὰ σκεύη καὶ τοὺς ὤμους
15 ἐκλύεσθαι συμβαίνει τὸ τελευταῖον συντόνως, οὕτως καὶ τὸν
περὶ τὸν πνεύμονα τόπον. κοῦφον γὰρ ἔξω φέρεσθαι τὸ
πνεῦμα διὰ τὸ μὴ γίνεσθαι βίαιον αὐτοῦ τὴν πληγήν·
ἅμα δὲ καὶ διὰ τὸ τετραχύνθαι τὴν ἀρτηρίαν αὐτῶν
ἰσχυρῶς, οὐ δύναται τὸ πνεῦμα ἔξω φέρεσθαι συνεχές,
20 ἀλλὰ διεσπασμένον, ὡς ἀπερρωγυίας γίγνεσθαι τὰς φωνὰς
αὐτῶν. καί τινες οἴονται διὰ τὴν τοῦ πνεύμονος γλισχρότητα
τὸ πνεῦμα οὐ δύνασθαι περαιοῦσθαι περὶ τὸν ἔξω
τόπον, διαμαρτάνοντες· φθέγγονται μὲν γὰρ ἀλλ' οὐ δύνανται
γεγωνεῖν διὰ τὸ μὴ γίνεσθαι μετὰ συντονίας τὴν
25 τοῦ ἀέρος πληγήν, ἀλλὰ μόνον φωνοῦσιν, ὡς ἂν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ
φάρυγγος τὸ πνεῦμα βιαζόμενον. τῶν δ' ἰσχνοφώνων οὔτε
περὶ τὰς φλέβας οὔτε περὶ τὰς ἀρτηρίας ἐστὶ τὸ πάθος, ἀλλὰ
περὶ τὴν κίνησιν τῆς γλώττης. χαλεπῶς γὰρ αὐτὴν μεταφέρουσιν,
ὅταν ἕτερον δέῃ φθόγγον εἰπεῖν. διὸ καὶ πολὺν
30 χρόνον τὸ αὐτὸ ῥῆμα λέγουσιν, οὐ δυνάμενοι τὸ ἑξῆς εἰπεῖν,
ἀλλὰ συνεχῶς τῆς κινήσεως καὶ τοῦ πνεύμονος αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὴν
αὐτὴν ὁρμὴν φερομένου διὰ τὸ πλῆθος καὶ τὴν βίαν τοῦ πνεύματος.
ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ τὸ σῶμα ὅλον τῶν τρεχόντων βιαίως χαλεπόν
ἐστιν ἐκ τῆς ὁρμῆς εἰς ἄλλην κίνησιν μεταστῆσαι, τὸν
35 αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ κατὰ μέρος. διὸ καὶ πολλάκις τὸ μὲν
ἑξῆς εἰπεῖν οὐ δύνανται, τὸ δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο λέγουσι ῥᾳδίως,
ὅταν ἄλλην ποιήσωνται τῆς κινήσεως ἀρχήν. δῆλον δ' ἐστίν·
καὶ γὰρ τοῖς ὀργιζομένοις τοῦτο συμβαίνει πολλάκις διὰ τὸ
βίαιον αὐτῶν γίγνεσθαι τὴν τοῦ πνεύματος φοράν.
1The same thing happens in the case of broken horns and badly strung strings; in all such cases the sound travels in a solid mass up to a certain point and is then dispersed, wherever the medium which supports it is not continuous, so that the impact upon the air is not single but dispersed, 5and the sound produced seems cracked, Cracked voices closely resemble harsh voices, except that in the latter case the sounds are themselves dispersed into small portions, while cracked voices, for the most part, form a solid mass at first and afterwards become split up into a number of parts.
Aspirated sounds are formed when we emit the breath from within immediately 10together with the sounds ; smooth το sounds, on the contrary, are those which are formed without the emission of the breath.
Voices become broken when they have no eee strength enough to expel the air with an impact, but the region about the lungs collapses after distension. For just as the legs! and shoulders eventually collapse when they are in 15a strained 15position,” so too the region about the lungs.
The breath, when it does come forth, comes forth lightly, ' >14. Reading with Wallis σκέλη for σκεΐη. * 80415. Reading συντόνους ὄντας for συντόνως.
because the impact which it produces is not forcible enough ; at the same time, owing to the fact that the windpipe has become exceedingly rough, the breath cannot pass out in 20a solid mass, but is dispersed, and so! the sounds which it produces are broken. Some people hold that it is owing to the adhesive condition of the lungs that the breath cannot pass out and abroad ; but they are wrong, for what really happens is that they make a sound but cannot speak out, because the impact upon the air does not take place with sufficient energy, 25but they only make a sound such as the breath would make when forced merely from the throat. When people stammer, it is due not to an affection of the veins or windpipe, but to the movement of the tongue ; for they find a difficulty in changing the position of the tongue when they have to utter a second sound. They therefore keep on repeating the same word, for 30they cannot utter the next word; but the movements of articulation continue and the lungs go on working with an impetus in the same direction as before, owing to the quantity and force of the breath. For just as when one is running fast it is difficult to divert the whole body from its impetus in ba one direction to some other movement, so likewise is it ἢ with the 35individual parts of the body. So people who ; stammer are often unable to say the next word, but can easily say the next but one, when they make a fresh start. This explanation of stammering is supported by the fact that people often stammer when angry, because then they force out their breath.
Aspirated sounds are formed when we emit the breath from within immediately 10together with the sounds ; smooth το sounds, on the contrary, are those which are formed without the emission of the breath.
Voices become broken when they have no eee strength enough to expel the air with an impact, but the region about the lungs collapses after distension. For just as the legs! and shoulders eventually collapse when they are in 15a strained 15position,” so too the region about the lungs.
The breath, when it does come forth, comes forth lightly, ' >14. Reading with Wallis σκέλη for σκεΐη. * 80415. Reading συντόνους ὄντας for συντόνως.
because the impact which it produces is not forcible enough ; at the same time, owing to the fact that the windpipe has become exceedingly rough, the breath cannot pass out in 20a solid mass, but is dispersed, and so! the sounds which it produces are broken. Some people hold that it is owing to the adhesive condition of the lungs that the breath cannot pass out and abroad ; but they are wrong, for what really happens is that they make a sound but cannot speak out, because the impact upon the air does not take place with sufficient energy, 25but they only make a sound such as the breath would make when forced merely from the throat. When people stammer, it is due not to an affection of the veins or windpipe, but to the movement of the tongue ; for they find a difficulty in changing the position of the tongue when they have to utter a second sound. They therefore keep on repeating the same word, for 30they cannot utter the next word; but the movements of articulation continue and the lungs go on working with an impetus in the same direction as before, owing to the quantity and force of the breath. For just as when one is running fast it is difficult to divert the whole body from its impetus in ba one direction to some other movement, so likewise is it ἢ with the 35individual parts of the body. So people who ; stammer are often unable to say the next word, but can easily say the next but one, when they make a fresh start. This explanation of stammering is supported by the fact that people often stammer when angry, because then they force out their breath.