Louis (Budé, 1956) · Ogle (1912)
Ogle (1912)
Greek line numbers are exact. The translations carry no Bekker numbers of their own, so those beside the English are aligned to the Greek: upright = fixed (anchored to this point in the text), italic grey = approximate (interpolated estimate).
Book 2,Chapter 1 (646a8–647b9)
646a
Ἐκ τίνων μὲν οὖν μορίων καὶ πόσων συνέστηκεν ἕκαστον
τῶν ζῴων, ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις ταῖς περὶ αὐτῶν δεδήλωται σαφέστερον·
10 δι' ἃς δ' αἰτίας ἕκαστον τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον,
ἐπισκεπτέον νῦν, χωρίσαντας καθ' αὑτὰ τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις
εἰρημένων. Τριῶν δ' οὐσῶν τῶν συνθέσεων πρώτην μὲν ἄν τις
θείη τὴν ἐκ τῶν καλουμένων ὑπό τινων στοιχείων, οἷον γῆς
ἀέρος ὕδατος πυρός. Ἔτι δὲ βέλτιον ἴσως ἐκ τῶν δυνάμεων
15 λέγειν, καὶ τούτων οὐκ ἐξ ἁπασῶν, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐν ἑτέροις
εἴρηται καὶ πρότερον. Ὑγρὸν γὰρ καὶ ξηρὸν καὶ θερμὸν καὶ
ψυχρὸν ὕλη τῶν συνθέτων σωμάτων ἐστίν· αἱ δ' ἄλλαι διαφοραὶ
ταύταις ἀκολουθοῦσιν, οἷον βάρος καὶ κουφότης καὶ
πυκνότης καὶ μανότης καὶ τραχύτης καὶ λειότης καὶ τἆλλα
20 τὰ τοιαῦτα πάθη τῶν σωμάτων. Δευτέρα δὲ σύστασις ἐκ
τῶν πρώτων ἡ τῶν ὁμοιομερῶν φύσις ἐν τοῖς ζῴοις ἐστίν,
οἷον ὀστοῦ καὶ σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν τοιούτων. Τρίτη δὲ
καὶ τελευταία κατ' ἀριθμὸν ἡ τῶν ἀνομοιομερῶν, οἷον προςώπου
καὶ χειρὸς καὶ τῶν τοιούτων μορίων. Ἐπεὶ δ' ἐναντίως
25 ἐπὶ τῆς γενέσεως ἔχει καὶ τῆς οὐσίας· τὰ γὰρ ὕστερα τῇ γενέσει
πρότερα τὴν φύσιν ἐστί, καὶ πρῶτον τὸ τῇ γενέσει τελευταῖον·
οὐ γὰρ οἰκία πλίνθων ἕνεκέν ἐστι καὶ λίθων, ἀλλὰ
ταῦτα τῆς οἰκίας· ὁμοίως δὲ τοῦτ' ἔχει καὶ περὶ τὴν ἄλλην
ὕλην. Οὐ μόνον δὲ φανερὸν ὅτι τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον ἐκ τῆς
30 ἐπαγωγῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τὸν λόγον· πᾶν γὰρ τὸ γινόμενον
ἔκ τινος καὶ εἴς τι ποιεῖται τὴν γένεσιν, καὶ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς
ἐπ' ἀρχήν, ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης κινούσης καὶ ἐχούσης ἤδη
τινὰ φύσιν ἐπί τινα μορφὴν ἢ τοιοῦτον ἄλλο τέλος· ἄνθρωπος
γὰρ ἄνθρωπον καὶ φυτὸν γεννᾷ φυτὸν ἐκ τῆς περὶ ἕκαστον
35 ὑποκειμένης ὕλης. Τῷ μὲν οὖν χρόνῳ προτέραν τὴν ὕλην
THE nature and the number of the parts of which animals are severally composed are matters which have already been set forth in detail in the book of Researches about 10Animals. We have now to inquire what are the causes that in each case have determined this composition, a subject quite distinct from that dealt with in the Researches.
Now there are three degrees of composition; and of these the first in order, as all will allow, is composition out of what some call the elements, such as earth, air, water, fire. Perhaps, however, it would be more accurate to say composition out 15of the elementary forces; nor indeed out of all of these, but out of a limited number of them, as defined in previous treatises. For fluid and solid, hot and cold, form the material of all composite bodies; and all other differences are secondary to these, such differences, that is, as heaviness or lightness, density or rarity, roughness or smoothness, and any other such properties of matter as there may be. second 20degree of composition is that by which the homogeneous parts of animals, such as bone, flesh, and the like, are constituted out of the primary substances. The third and last stage is the composition which forms the heterogeneous parts, such as face, hand, and the rest.
Now the order of actual development and the order of logical existence are always the inverse of each other. For that which is posterior in the 25order of development is antecedent in the order of nature, and that is genetically last which in nature is first.
(That this is so is manifest by induction; for a house does not exist for the sake of bricks and stones, but these materials for the sake of the house; and the same is the case with the materials of other bodies. Nor is induction required to show this. it is included in our conception of generation. For 30generation is a process from a something to a something; that which is generated having a cause in which it originates and a cause in which it ends. The originating cause is the primary efficient cause, which is something already endowed with tangible existence, while the final cause is some definite form or similar end; for man generates man, and plant generates plant, in each case out of the underlying material.)
Now there are three degrees of composition; and of these the first in order, as all will allow, is composition out of what some call the elements, such as earth, air, water, fire. Perhaps, however, it would be more accurate to say composition out 15of the elementary forces; nor indeed out of all of these, but out of a limited number of them, as defined in previous treatises. For fluid and solid, hot and cold, form the material of all composite bodies; and all other differences are secondary to these, such differences, that is, as heaviness or lightness, density or rarity, roughness or smoothness, and any other such properties of matter as there may be. second 20degree of composition is that by which the homogeneous parts of animals, such as bone, flesh, and the like, are constituted out of the primary substances. The third and last stage is the composition which forms the heterogeneous parts, such as face, hand, and the rest.
Now the order of actual development and the order of logical existence are always the inverse of each other. For that which is posterior in the 25order of development is antecedent in the order of nature, and that is genetically last which in nature is first.
(That this is so is manifest by induction; for a house does not exist for the sake of bricks and stones, but these materials for the sake of the house; and the same is the case with the materials of other bodies. Nor is induction required to show this. it is included in our conception of generation. For 30generation is a process from a something to a something; that which is generated having a cause in which it originates and a cause in which it ends. The originating cause is the primary efficient cause, which is something already endowed with tangible existence, while the final cause is some definite form or similar end; for man generates man, and plant generates plant, in each case out of the underlying material.)
646b
1 ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι καὶ τὴν γένεσιν, τῷ λόγῳ δὲ τὴν οὐσίαν καὶ
τὴν ἑκάστου μορφήν. Δῆλον δ' ἂν λέγῃ τις τὸν λόγον τῆς γενέσεως·
ὁ μὲν γὰρ τῆς οἰκοδομήσεως λόγος ἔχει τὸν τῆς
οἰκίας, ὁ δὲ τῆς οἰκίας οὐκ ἔχει τὸν τῆς οἰκοδομήσεως. Ὁμοίως
5 δὲ τοῦτο συμβέβηκε καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων. Ὥστε τὴν μὲν
τῶν στοιχείων ὕλην ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι τῶν ὁμοιομερῶν ἕνεκεν.
Ὕστερα γὰρ ἐκείνων ταῦτα τῇ γενέσει, τούτων δὲ τὰ ἀνομοιομερῆ·
ταῦτα γὰρ ἤδη τὸ τέλος ἔχει καὶ τὸ πέρας, ἐπὶ τοῦ
τρίτου λαβόντα τὴν σύστασιν ἀριθμοῦ, καθάπερ ἐπὶ πολλῶν
10 συμβαίνει τελειοῦσθαι τὰς γενέσεις. Ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων μὲν οὖν
τὰ ζῷα συνέστηκε τῶν μορίων τούτων, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὁμοιομερῆ
τῶν ἀνομοιομερῶν ἕνεκέν ἐστιν· ἐκείνων γὰρ ἔργα καὶ πράξεις
εἰσίν, οἷον ὀφθαλμοῦ καὶ μυκτῆρος καὶ τοῦ προσώπου παντὸς
καὶ δακτύλου καὶ χειρὸς καὶ παντὸς τοῦ βραχίονος. Πολυμόρφων
15 δὲ τῶν πράξεων καὶ τῶν κινήσεων ὑπαρχουσῶν τοῖς
ζῴοις ὅλοις τε καὶ τοῖς μορίοις τοῖς τοιούτοις, ἀναγκαῖον ἐξ,
ὧν σύγκεινται, τὰς δυνάμεις ἀνομοίας ἔχειν· πρὸς μὲν γάρ
τινα μαλακότης χρήσιμος πρὸς δέ τινα σκληρότης, καὶ τὰ
μὲν τάσιν ἔχειν τὰ δὲ κάμψιν. Τὰ μὲν οὖν ὁμοιομερῆ
20 κατὰ μέρος διείληφε τὰς δυνάμεις τὰς τοιαύτας (τὸ μὲν
γὰρ αὐτῶν ἐστι μαλακὸν τὸ δὲ σκληρόν, καὶ τὸ μὲν ὑγρὸν
τὸ δὲ ξηρόν, καὶ τὸ μὲν γλίσχρον τὸ δὲ κραῦρον), τὰ δ' ἀνομοιομερῆ
κατὰ πολλὰς καὶ συγκειμένας ἀλλήλαις· ἑτέρα γὰρ
πρὸς τὸ πιέσαι τῇ χειρὶ χρήσιμος δύναμις καὶ πρὸς τὸ
25 λαβεῖν. Διόπερ ἐξ ὀστῶν καὶ νεύρων καὶ σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν
ἄλλων τῶν τοιούτων συνεστήκασι τὰ ὀργανικὰ τῶν μορίων,
ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐκεῖνα ἐκ τούτων. Ὡς μὲν οὖν ἕνεκά τινος διὰ ταύτην
τὴν αἰτίαν ἔχει περὶ τούτων τὸν εἰρημένον τρόπον· ἐπεὶ δὲ
ζητεῖται καὶ πῶς ἀναγκαῖον ἔχειν οὕτως, φανερὸν ὅτι προυπῆρχεν
30 οὕτω πρὸς ἄλληλα ἔχοντα ἐξ ἀνάγκης. Τὰ μὲν
γὰρ ἀνομοιομερῆ ἐκ τῶν ὁμοιομερῶν ἐνδέχεται συνεστάναι,
καὶ ἐκ πλειόνων καὶ ἑνός, οἷον ἔνια τῶν σπλάγχνων· πολύμορφα
γὰρ τοῖς σχήμασιν, ἐξ ὁμοιομεροῦς ὄντα σώματος
ὡς εἰπεῖν ἁπλῶς. Τὰ δ' ὁμοιομερῆ ἐκ τούτων ἀδύνατον·
35 τὸ γὰρ ὁμοιομερὲς πόλλ' ἂν εἴη ἀνομοιομερῆ. Διὰ μὲν οὖν
1In order of time, then, the material and the generative process must necessarily be anterior to the being that is generated; but in logical order the definitive character and form of each being precedes the material. This is evident if one only tries to define the process of formation. For the definition of house-building includes and 5presupposes that of the house; but the definition of the house does not include nor presuppose that of house-building; and the same is true of all other productions. So that it must necessarily be that the elementary material exists for the sake of the homogeneous parts, seeing that these are genetically posterior to it, just as the heterogeneous parts are posterior genetically to them. For these heterogeneous parts have reached 10the end and goal, having the third degree of composition, in which degree generation or development often attains its final term.
Animals, then, are composed of homogeneous parts, and are also composed of heterogeneous parts. The former, however, exist for the sake of the latter. For the active functions and operations of the body are carried on by these; that is, by the heterogeneous parts, such as the eye, the nostril, 15the whole face, the fingers, the hand, and the whole arm. But inasmuch as there is a great variety in the functions and motions not only of aggregate animals but also of the individual organs, it is necessary that the substances out of which these are composed shall present a diversity of properties. For some purposes softness is advantageous, for others hardness; some parts must be capable of extension, others of flexion. 20Such properties, then, are distributed separately to the different homogeneous parts, one being soft another hard, one fluid another solid, one viscous another brittle; whereas each of the heterogeneous parts presents a combination of multifarious properties. For the hand, to take an example, requires one property to enable it to effect pressure, and another and different property for simple prehension. For this reason the 25active or executive parts of the body are compounded out of bones, sinews, flesh, and the like, but not these latter out of the former.
So far, then, as has yet been stated, the relations between these two orders of parts are determined by a final cause. We have, however, to inquire whether necessity may not also have a share in the matter; and it must be admitted that these mutual relations could not from the very beginning 30have possibly been other than they are. For heterogeneous parts can be made up out of homogeneous parts, either from a plurality of them, or from a single one, as is the case with some of the viscera which, varying in configuration, are yet, to speak broadly, formed from a single homogeneous substance; but that homogeneous substances should be formed out of a combination of heterogeneous parts is clearly an impossibility.
Animals, then, are composed of homogeneous parts, and are also composed of heterogeneous parts. The former, however, exist for the sake of the latter. For the active functions and operations of the body are carried on by these; that is, by the heterogeneous parts, such as the eye, the nostril, 15the whole face, the fingers, the hand, and the whole arm. But inasmuch as there is a great variety in the functions and motions not only of aggregate animals but also of the individual organs, it is necessary that the substances out of which these are composed shall present a diversity of properties. For some purposes softness is advantageous, for others hardness; some parts must be capable of extension, others of flexion. 20Such properties, then, are distributed separately to the different homogeneous parts, one being soft another hard, one fluid another solid, one viscous another brittle; whereas each of the heterogeneous parts presents a combination of multifarious properties. For the hand, to take an example, requires one property to enable it to effect pressure, and another and different property for simple prehension. For this reason the 25active or executive parts of the body are compounded out of bones, sinews, flesh, and the like, but not these latter out of the former.
So far, then, as has yet been stated, the relations between these two orders of parts are determined by a final cause. We have, however, to inquire whether necessity may not also have a share in the matter; and it must be admitted that these mutual relations could not from the very beginning 30have possibly been other than they are. For heterogeneous parts can be made up out of homogeneous parts, either from a plurality of them, or from a single one, as is the case with some of the viscera which, varying in configuration, are yet, to speak broadly, formed from a single homogeneous substance; but that homogeneous substances should be formed out of a combination of heterogeneous parts is clearly an impossibility.
647a
1 ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας τὰ μὲν ἁπλᾶ καὶ ὁμοιομερῆ, τὰ δὲ
σύνθετα καὶ ἀνομοιομερῆ τῶν μορίων ἐν τοῖς ζῴοις ἐστίν. Ὄντων
δὲ τῶν μὲν ὀργανικῶν μερῶν τῶν δ' αἰσθητηρίων ἐν τοῖς
ζῴοις, τῶν μὲν ὀργανικῶν ἕκαστον ἀνομοιομερές ἐστιν, ὥσπερ
5 εἶπον πρότερον, ἡ δ' αἴσθησις ἐγγίγνεται πᾶσιν ἐν τοῖς
ὁμοιομερέσι, διὰ τὸ τῶν αἰσθήσεων ὁποιανοῦν ἑνός τινος εἶναι
γένους, καὶ τὸ αἰσθητήριον ἑκάστου δεκτικὸν εἶναι τῶν αἰσθητῶν.
Πάσχει δὲ τὸ δυνάμει ὂν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐνεργείᾳ ὄντος, ὥστε
ἐστὶ τὸ αὐτὸ τῷ γένει καὶ ἐκεῖνο ἓν καὶ τοῦτο ἕν. Καὶ διὰ
10 τοῦτο χεῖρα μὲν ἢ πρόσωπον ἢ τῶν τοιούτων τι μορίων οὐδεὶς
ἐγχειρεῖ λέγειν τῶν φυσιολόγων τὸ μὲν εἶναι γῆν, τὸ δ'
ὕδωρ, τὸ δὲ πῦρ· τῶν δ' αἰσθητηρίων ἕκαστον πρὸς ἕκαστον
ἐπιζευγνύουσι τῶν στοιχείων, τὸ μὲν ἀέρα φάσκοντες εἶναι
τὸ δὲ πῦρ. Οὔσης δὲ τῆς αἰσθήσεως ἐν τοῖς ἁπλοῖς μέρεσιν
15 εὐλόγως μάλιστα συμβαίνει τὴν ἁφὴν ἐν ὁμοιομερεῖ μὲν
ἥκιστα δ' ἁπλῷ τῶν αἰσθητηρίων ἐγγίνεσθαι· μάλιστα γὰρ
αὕτη δοκεῖ πλειόνων εἶναι γενῶν, καὶ πολλὰς ἔχειν ἐναντιώσεις
τὸ ὑπὸ ταύτην αἰσθητόν, θερμὸν ψυχρόν, ξηρὸν
ὑγρὸν καὶ ἔτι ἄλλα τοιαῦτα· καὶ τὸ τούτων αἰσθητήριον, ἡ
20 σάρξ, καὶ τὸ ταύτῃ ἀνάλογον σωματωδέστατόν ἐστι τῶν αἰσθητηρίων.
Ἐπεὶ δ' ἀδύνατον εἶναι ζῷον ἄνευ αἰσθήσεως, καὶ
διὰ τοῦτο ἂν εἴη ἀναγκαῖον ἔχειν τοῖς ζῴοις ἔνια μόρια
ὁμοιομερῆ· ἡ μὲν γὰρ αἴσθησις ἐν τούτοις, αἱ δὲ πράξεις
διὰ τῶν ἀνομοιομερῶν ὑπάρχουσιν αὐτοῖς. Τῆς δ' αἰσθητικῆς
25 δυνάμεως καὶ τῆς κινούσης τὸ ζῷον καὶ τῆς θρεπτικῆς ἐν
ταὐτῷ μορίῳ τοῦ σώματος οὔσης, καθάπερ ἐν ἑτέροις εἴρηται
πρότερον, ἀναγκαῖον τὸ ἔχον πρῶτον μόριον τὰς τοιαύτας
ἀρχάς, ᾗ μέν ἐστι δεκτικὸν πάντων τῶν αἰσθητῶν, τῶν
ἁπλῶν εἶναι μορίων, ᾗ δὲ κινητικὸν καὶ πρακτικόν, τῶν
30 ἀνομοιομερῶν. Διόπερ ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἀναίμοις ζῴοις τὸ ἀνάλογον,
ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἐναίμοις ἡ καρδία τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· διαιρεῖται
μὲν γὰρ εἰς ὁμοιομερῆ καθάπερ τῶν ἄλλων σπλάγχνων
ἕκαστον, διὰ δὲ τὴν τοῦ σχήματος μορφὴν ἀνομοιομερές ἐστιν.
Ταύτῃ δ' ἠκολούθηκε καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν καλουμένων σπλάγχνων
35 ἕκαστον. Ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς γὰρ ὕλης συνεστᾶσιν· αἱματικὴ
1For these causes, then, some parts of animals are simple and homogeneous, while others are composite and heterogeneous; and dividing the parts into the active or executive and the sensitive, each one of the former is, as before said, heterogeneous, and each one of the latter homogeneous. For it is in homogeneous parts alone that 5sensation can occur, as the following considerations show.
Each sense is confined to a single order of sensibles, and its organ must be such as to admit the action of that kind or order. But it is only that which is endowed with a property in posse that is acted on by that which has the like property in esse, so that the two are the same in kind, and if the latter is single so also is the former. Thus it is that 10while no physiologists ever dream of saying of the hand or face or other such part that one is earth, another water, another fire, they couple each separate sense-organ with a separate element, asserting this one to be air and that other to be fire.
Sensation, then, is confined to the simple or homogeneous parts. But, as might reasonably be expected, the organ of touch, though still homogeneous, is yet the least 15simple of all the sense-organs. For touch more than any other sense appears to be correlated to several distinct kinds of objects, and to recognize more than one category of contrasts, heat and cold, for instance, solidity and fluidity, and other similar oppositions. Accordingly, the organ which deals with these varied objects is of all the sense-organs the most corporeal, being either the flesh, or the 20substance which in some animals takes the place of flesh.
Now as there cannot possibly be an animal without sensation, it follows as a necessary consequence that every animal must have some homogeneous parts; for these alone are capable of sensation, the heterogeneous parts serving for the active functions. Again, as the sensory faculty, the motor faculty, and the nutritive faculty are all lodged in one and the same 25part of the body, as was stated in a former treatise, it is necessary that the part which is the primary seat of these principles shall on the one hand, in its character of general sensory recipient, be one of the simple parts; and on the other hand shall, in its motor and active character, be one of the heterogeneous parts. For this reason it is the heart which in sanguineous animals constitutes this central 30part, and in bloodless animals it is that which takes the place of a heart. For the heart, like the other viscera, is one of the homogeneous parts; for, if cut up, its pieces are homogeneous in substance with each other. But it is at the same time heterogeneous in virtue of its definite configuration. And the same is true of the other so-called viscera, which are indeed formed from the same material as the heart.
Each sense is confined to a single order of sensibles, and its organ must be such as to admit the action of that kind or order. But it is only that which is endowed with a property in posse that is acted on by that which has the like property in esse, so that the two are the same in kind, and if the latter is single so also is the former. Thus it is that 10while no physiologists ever dream of saying of the hand or face or other such part that one is earth, another water, another fire, they couple each separate sense-organ with a separate element, asserting this one to be air and that other to be fire.
Sensation, then, is confined to the simple or homogeneous parts. But, as might reasonably be expected, the organ of touch, though still homogeneous, is yet the least 15simple of all the sense-organs. For touch more than any other sense appears to be correlated to several distinct kinds of objects, and to recognize more than one category of contrasts, heat and cold, for instance, solidity and fluidity, and other similar oppositions. Accordingly, the organ which deals with these varied objects is of all the sense-organs the most corporeal, being either the flesh, or the 20substance which in some animals takes the place of flesh.
Now as there cannot possibly be an animal without sensation, it follows as a necessary consequence that every animal must have some homogeneous parts; for these alone are capable of sensation, the heterogeneous parts serving for the active functions. Again, as the sensory faculty, the motor faculty, and the nutritive faculty are all lodged in one and the same 25part of the body, as was stated in a former treatise, it is necessary that the part which is the primary seat of these principles shall on the one hand, in its character of general sensory recipient, be one of the simple parts; and on the other hand shall, in its motor and active character, be one of the heterogeneous parts. For this reason it is the heart which in sanguineous animals constitutes this central 30part, and in bloodless animals it is that which takes the place of a heart. For the heart, like the other viscera, is one of the homogeneous parts; for, if cut up, its pieces are homogeneous in substance with each other. But it is at the same time heterogeneous in virtue of its definite configuration. And the same is true of the other so-called viscera, which are indeed formed from the same material as the heart.
647b
1 γὰρ ἡ φύσις πάντων αὐτῶν διὰ τὸ τὴν θέσιν ἔχειν ἐπὶ πόροις
φλεβικοῖς καὶ διαλήψεσιν. Καθάπερ οὖν ῥέοντος ὕδατος
ἰλύς, τἆλλα σπλάγχνα τῆς διὰ τῶν φλεβῶν ῥύσεως τοῦ
αἵματος οἷον προχεύματά ἐστιν· ἡ δὲ καρδία, διὰ τὸ τῶν
5 φλεβῶν ἀρχὴ εἶναι καὶ ἔχειν ἐν αὑτῇ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν δημιουγοῦσαν
τὸ αἷμα πρώτην, εὔλογον, ἐξ οἵας δέχεται τροφῆς,
ἐκ τοιαύτης συνεστάναι καὶ αὐτήν. Διότι μὲν οὖν αἱματικὰ
τὴν μορφὴν τὰ σπλάγχνα ἐστίν, εἴρηται, καὶ διότι τῇ
μὲν ὁμοιομερῆ τῇ δ' ἀνομοιομερῆ.
1For all these viscera have a sanguineous character owing to their being situated upon vascular ducts and branches. For just as a stream of water deposits mud, so the various viscera, the heart excepted, are, as it were, deposits from the stream of blood in the vessels. And as to the heart, the very starting-point of the vessels, and 5the actual seat of the force by which the blood is first fabricated, it is but what one would naturally expect, that out of the selfsame nutriment of which it is the recipient its own proper substance shall be formed. Such, then, are the reasons why the viscera are of sanguineous aspect; and why in one point of view they are homogeneous, in another heterogeneous.
Book 2,Chapter 2 (647b10–649b8)
10 Τῶν δ' ὁμοιομερῶν μορίων ἐν τοῖς ζῴοις ἐστὶ τὰ μὲν
μαλακὰ καὶ ὑγρά, τὰ δὲ σκληρὰ καὶ στερεά, ὑγρὰ μὲν ἢ
ὅλως ἢ ἕως ἂν ᾖ ἐν τῇ φύσει, οἷον αἷμα, ἰχώρ, πιμελή,
στέαρ, μυελός, γονή, χολή, γάλα ἐν τοῖς ἔχουσι, σάρξ,
καὶ τὰ τούτοις ἀνάλογον· οὐ γὰρ ἅπαντα τὰ ζῷα τούτων τῶν
15 μορίων τέτευχεν, ἀλλ' ἔνια τῶν ἀνάλογον τούτων τισίν. Τὰ
δὲ ξηρὰ καὶ στερεὰ τῶν ὁμοιομερῶν ἐστιν, οἷον ὀστοῦν ἄκανθα
νεῦρον φλέψ. Καὶ γὰρ τῶν ὁμοιομερῶν ἡ διαίρεσις ἔχει
διαφοράν· ἔστι γὰρ ὡς ἐνίων τὸ μέρος ὁμώνυμον τῷ ὅλῳ,
ἔστι δ' ὡς οὐχ ὁμώνυμον, οἷον φλεβὸς φλέψ, ἀλλὰ προσώπου
20 πρόσωπον οὐδαμῶς. Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν καὶ τοῖς ὑγροῖς μορίοις
καὶ τοῖς ξηροῖς πολλοὶ τρόποι τῆς αἰτίας εἰσίν. Τὰ μὲν
γὰρ ὡς ὕλη τῶν μερῶν τῶν ἀνομοιομερῶν ἐστιν (ἐκ τούτων
γὰρ συνέστηκεν ἕκαστον τῶν ὀργανικῶν μερῶν, ἐξ ὀστῶν καὶ
νεύρων καὶ σαρκῶν καὶ ἄλλων τοιούτων συμβαλλομένων τὰ
25 μὲν εἰς τὴν οὐσίαν τὰ δ' εἰς τὴν ἐργασίαν), τὰ δὲ τροφὴ
τούτοις τῶν ὑγρῶν ἐστι (πάντα γὰρ ἐξ ὑγροῦ λαμβάνει τὴν
αὔξησιν), τὰ δὲ περιττώματα συμβέβηκεν εἶναι τούτων, οἷον
τήν τε τῆς ξηρᾶς τροφῆς ὑπόστασιν καὶ τὴν τῆς ὑγρᾶς τοῖς
ἔχουσι κύστιν. Αὐτῶν δὲ τούτων αἱ διαφοραὶ πρὸς ἄλληλα τοῦ
30 βελτίονος ἕνεκέν εἰσιν, οἷον τῶν τε ἄλλων καὶ αἵματος πρὸς
αἷμα· τὸ μὲν γὰρ λεπτότερον τὸ δὲ παχύτερον καὶ τὸ
μὲν καθαρώτερόν ἐστι τὸ δὲ θολερώτερον, ἔτι δὲ τὸ μὲν ψυχρότερον
τὸ δὲ θερμότερον ἔν τε τοῖς μορίοις τοῦ ἑνὸς ζῴου
(τὸ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἄνω μέρεσι πρὸς τὰ κάτω μόρια διαφέρει
35 ταύταις ταῖς διαφοραῖς) καὶ ἑτέρῳ πρὸς ἕτερον. Καὶ ὅλως
Of the homogeneous parts of animals, some are soft and 10fluid, others hard and solid; and of the former some are fluid permanently, others only so long as they are in the living body. Such are blood, serum, lard, suet, marrow, semen, bile, milk when present, flesh, and their various analogues. For the parts enumerated are not to be found in all animals, some animals only having parts analogous to them. Of the hard and solid homogeneous parts bone, fish-spine, sinew, 15blood-vessel, are examples. The last of these points to a sub-division that may be made in the class of homogeneous parts. For in some of them the whole and a portion of the whole in one sense are designated by the same term-as, for example, is the case with blood-vessel and bit of blood-vessel-while in another sense they are not; but a portion of a heterogeneous part, such as face, in no sense has the same designation 20as the whole.
The first question to be asked is what are the causes to which these homogeneous parts owe their existence? The causes are various; and this whether the parts be solid or fluid. Thus one set of homogeneous parts represent the material out of which the heterogeneous parts are formed; for each separate organ is constructed of bones, sinews, flesh, and the like; which are either essential elements in its 25formation, or contribute to the proper discharge of its function. A second set are the nutriment of the first, and are invariably fluid, for all growth occurs at the expense of fluid matter; while a third set are the residue of the second. Such, for instance, are the faeces and, in animals that have a bladder, the urine; the former being the dregs of the solid nutriment, the latter of the fluid.
Even the individual 30homogeneous parts present variations, which are intended in each case to render them more serviceable for their purpose. The variations of the blood may be selected to illustrate this. For different bloods differ in their degrees of thinness or thickness, of clearness or turbidity, of coldness or heat; and this whether we compare the bloods from different parts of the same individual or the bloods of different animals.
The first question to be asked is what are the causes to which these homogeneous parts owe their existence? The causes are various; and this whether the parts be solid or fluid. Thus one set of homogeneous parts represent the material out of which the heterogeneous parts are formed; for each separate organ is constructed of bones, sinews, flesh, and the like; which are either essential elements in its 25formation, or contribute to the proper discharge of its function. A second set are the nutriment of the first, and are invariably fluid, for all growth occurs at the expense of fluid matter; while a third set are the residue of the second. Such, for instance, are the faeces and, in animals that have a bladder, the urine; the former being the dregs of the solid nutriment, the latter of the fluid.
Even the individual 30homogeneous parts present variations, which are intended in each case to render them more serviceable for their purpose. The variations of the blood may be selected to illustrate this. For different bloods differ in their degrees of thinness or thickness, of clearness or turbidity, of coldness or heat; and this whether we compare the bloods from different parts of the same individual or the bloods of different animals.
648a
1 τὰ μὲν ἔναιμα τῶν ζῴων ἐστί, τὰ δ' ἀντὶ τοῦ αἵματος ἔχει
ἕτερόν τι μόριον τοιοῦτον. Ἔστι δ' ἰσχύος μὲν ποιητικώτερον τὸ
παχύτερον αἷμα καὶ θερμότερον, αἰσθητικώτερον δὲ καὶ νοερώτερον
τὸ λεπτότερον καὶ ψυχρότερον. Τὴν αὐτὴν δ' ἔχει
5 διαφορὰν καὶ τῶν ἀνάλογον ὑπαρχόντων πρὸς τὸ αἷμα· διὸ
καὶ μέλιτται καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα ζῷα φρονιμώτερα τὴν
φύσιν ἐστὶν ἐναίμων πολλῶν, καὶ τῶν ἐναίμων τὰ ψυχρὸν
ἔχοντα καὶ λεπτὸν αἷμα φρονιμώτερα τῶν ἐναντίων ἐστίν.
Ἄριστα δὲ τὰ θερμὸν ἔχοντα καὶ λεπτὸν καὶ καθαρόν· ἅμα
10 γὰρ πρός τε ἀνδρείαν τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ πρὸς φρόνησιν ἔχει
καλῶς. Διὸ καὶ τὰ ἄνω μόρια πρὸς τὰ κάτω ταύτην ἔχει
τὴν διαφοράν, καὶ πρὸς τὸ θῆλυ αὖ τὸ ἄρρεν, καὶ τὰ δεξιὰ
πρὸς τὰ ἀριστερὰ τοῦ σώματος. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν
ἄλλων καὶ τῶν τοιούτων μορίων καὶ τῶν ἀνοιομερῶν ὑποληπτέον
15 ἔχειν τὴν διαφοράν, τὰ μὲν πρὸς τὸ βέλτιον ἢ
χεῖρον, τὰ δὲ πρὸς τὰ ἔργα καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν ἑκάστῳ τῶν ζῴων,
οἷον ἐχόντων ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀμφοτέρων τὰ μέν ἐστι σκληρόφθαλμα
τὰ δ' ὑγρόφθαλμα, καὶ τὰ μὲν οὐκ ἔχει βλέφαρα
τὰ δ' ἔχει πρὸς τὸ τὴν ὄψιν ἀκριβεστέραν εἶναι. Ὅτι
20 δ' ἀναγκαῖον ἔχειν ἢ αἷμα ἢ τὸ τούτῳ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχον φύσιν,
καὶ τίς ἐστιν ἡ τοῦ αἵματος φύσις, πρῶτον διελομένοις
περὶ θερμοῦ καὶ ψυχροῦ, οὕτω καὶ περὶ τούτου θεωρητέον τὰς
αἰτίας. Πολλῶν γὰρ ἡ φύσις ἀνάγεται πρὸς ταύτας τὰς
ἀρχάς, καὶ πολλοὶ διαμφισβητοῦσι ποῖα θερμὰ καὶ ποῖα
25 ψυχρὰ τῶν ζῴων ἢ τῶν μορίων. Ἔνιοι γὰρ τὰ ἔνυδρα τῶν
πεζῶν θερμότερά φασιν εἶναι, λέγοντες ὡς ἐπανισοῖ τὴν
ψυχρότητα τοῦ τόπου ἡ τῆς φύσεως αὐτῶν θερμότης, καὶ
τὰ ἄναιμα τῶν ἐναίμων καὶ τὰ θήλεα τῶν ἀρρένων, οἷον
Παρμενίδης τὰς γυναῖκας τῶν ἀνδρῶν θερμοτέρας εἶναί φησι
30 καὶ ἕτεροί τινες, ὡς διὰ τὴν θερμότητα καὶ πολυαιμούσαις
γινομένων τῶν γυναικείων, Ἐμπεδοκλῆς δὲ τοὐναντίον· ἔτι
δ' αἷμα καὶ χολὴν οἱ μὲν θερμὸν ὁποτερονοῦν εἶναί φασιν
αὐτῶν, οἱ δὲ ψυχρόν. Εἰ δ' ἔχει τοσαύτην τὸ θερμὸν καὶ
τὸ ψυχρὸν ἀμφισβήτησιν, τί χρὴ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὑπολαβεῖν;
35 Ταῦτα γὰρ ἡμῖν ἐναργέστατα τῶν περὶ τὴν αἴσθησιν.
Ἔοικε δὲ διὰ τὸ πολλαχῶς λέγεσθαι τὸ θερμότερον ταῦτα
1For, in the individual, all the differences just enumerated distinguish the blood of the upper and of the lower halves of the body; and, dealing with classes, one section of animals is sanguineous, while the other has no blood, but only something resembling it in its place. As regards the results of such differences, the thicker and 5the hotter blood is, the more conducive is it to strength, while in proportion to its thinness and its coldness is its suitability for sensation and intelligence. A like distinction exists also in the fluid which is analogous to blood. This explains how it is that bees and other similar creatures are of a more intelligent nature than many sanguineous animals; and that, of sanguineous animals, those are the most 10intelligent whose blood is thin and cold. Noblest of all are those whose blood is hot, and at the same time thin and clear. For such are suited alike for the development of courage and of intelligence. Accordingly, the upper parts are superior in these respects to the lower, the male superior to the female, and the right side to the left. As with the blood so also with the other parts, homogeneous and heterogeneous alike. 15For here also such variations as occur must be held either to be related to the essential constitution and mode of life of the several animals, or, in other cases, to be merely matters of slightly better or slightly worse. Two animals, for instance, may have eyes. But in one these eyes may be of fluid consistency, while in the other they are hard; and in one there may be eyelids, in the other no such appendages. 20In such a case, the fluid consistency and the presence of eyelids, which are intended to add to the accuracy of vision, are differences of degree. As to why all animals must of necessity have blood or something of a similar character, and what the nature of blood may be, these are matters which can only be considered when we have first discussed hot and cold. For the natural properties of many substances are referable 25to these two elementary principles; and it is a matter of frequent dispute what animals or what parts of animals are hot and what cold. For some maintain that water animals are hotter than such as live on land, asserting that their natural heat counterbalances the coldness of their medium; and again, that bloodless animals are hotter than those with blood, and females than males. Parmenides, for instance, and some 30others declare that women are hotter than men, and that it is the warmth and abundance of their blood which causes their menstrual flow, while Empedocles maintains the opposite opinion. Again, comparing the blood and the bile, some speak of the former as hot and of the latter as cold, while others invert the description. If there be this endless disputing about hot and cold, which of all things that affect our 35senses are the most distinct, what are we to think as to our other sensory impressions?
648b
1 συμβαίνειν· ἕκαστος γὰρ δοκεῖ τι λέγειν τἀναντία λέγων.
Διὸ δεῖ μὴ λανθάνειν πῶς δεῖ τῶν φύσει συνεστώτων τὰ μὲν
θερμὰ λέγειν τὰ δὲ ψυχρὰ καὶ τὰ μὲν ξηρὰ τὰ δ' ὑγρά,
ἐπεὶ ὅτι γ' αἴτια ταῦτα σχεδὸν καὶ θανάτου καὶ ζωῆς ἔοικεν
5 εἶναι φανερόν, ἔτι δ' ὕπνου καὶ ἐγρηγόρσεως καὶ ἀκμῆς καὶ
γήρως καὶ νόσου καὶ ὑγιείας, ἀλλ' οὐ τραχύτητες καὶ λειότητες
οὐδὲ βαρύτητες καὶ κουφότητες οὐδ' ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων
οὐδὲν ὡς εἰπεῖν. Καὶ τοῦτ' εὐλόγως συμβέβηκεν· καθάπερ
γὰρ ἐν ἑτέροις εἴρηται πρότερον, ἀρχαὶ τῶν φυσικῶν στοιχείων
10 αὗταί εἰσι, θερμὸν καὶ ψυχρὸν καὶ ξηρὸν καὶ ὑγρόν.
Πότερον οὖν ἁπλῶς λέγεται τὸ θερμὸν ἢ πλεοναχῶς; Δεῖ δὴ
λαβεῖν τί ἔργον τοῦ θερμοτέρου, ἢ πόσα, εἰ πλείω. Ἕνα μὲν
δὴ τρόπον λέγεται μᾶλλον θερμὸν ὑφ' οὗ μᾶλλον θερμαίνεται
τὸ ἁπτόμενον, ἄλλως δὲ τὸ μᾶλλον αἴσθησιν ἐμποιοῦν
15 ἐν τῷ θιγγάνειν, καὶ τοῦτ', ἐὰν μετὰ λύπης. Ἔστι δ' ὅτε δοκεῖ
τοῦτ' εἶναι ψεῦδος· ἐνίοτε γὰρ ἡ ἕξις αἰτία τοῦ ἀλγεῖν
αἰσθανομένοις. Ἔτι τὸ τηκτικώτερον τοῦ τηκτοῦ καὶ τοῦ καυστοῦ
καυστικώτερον. Ἔτι ἐὰν ᾖ τὸ μὲν πλέον τὸ δ' ἔλαττον τὸ
αὐτό, τὸ πλέον τοῦ ἐλάττονος θερμότερον. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις
20 δυοῖν τὸ μὴ ταχέως ψυχόμενον ἀλλὰ βραδέως θερμότερον,
καὶ τὸ θᾶττον θερμαινόμενον τοῦ θερμαινομένου βραδέως θερμότερον
εἶναι τὴν φύσιν φαμέν, ὡς τὸ μὲν ἐναντίον, ὅτι
πόρρω, τὸ δ' ὅμοιον, ὅτι ἐγγύς. Λέγεται μὲν οὖν εἰ μὴ
πλεοναχῶς, ἀλλὰ τοσαυταχῶς ἕτερον ἑτέρου θερμότερον·
25 τούτους δὲ τοὺς τρόπους ἀδύνατον ὑπάρχειν τῷ αὐτῷ πάντας.
Θερμαίνει μὲν γὰρ μᾶλλον τὸ ζέον ὕδωρ τῆς φλογός, καίει
δὲ καὶ τήκει τὸ καυστὸν καὶ τηκτὸν ἡ φλόξ, τὸ δ' ὕδωρ
οὐδέν. Ἔτι θερμότερον μὲν τὸ ζέον ὕδωρ ἢ πῦρ ὀλίγον, ψύχεται
δὲ καὶ θᾶττον καὶ μᾶλλον τὸ θερμὸν ὕδωρ μικροῦ πυρός·
30 οὐ γὰρ γίνεται ψυχρὸν πῦρ, ὕδωρ δὲ γίνεται πᾶν. Ἔτι
θερμότερον μὲν κατὰ τὴν ἁφὴν τὸ ζέον ὕδωρ, ψύχεται δὲ
θᾶττον καὶ πήγνυται τοῦ ἐλαίου. Ἔτι τὸ αἷμα κατὰ μὲν τὴν
ἁφὴν θερμότερον ὕδατος καὶ ἐλαίου, πήγνυται δὲ θᾶττον.
Ἔτι λίθοι καὶ σίδηρος καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα θερμαίνεται μὲν βραδύτερον
35 ὕδατος, καίει δὲ θερμανθέντα μᾶλλον. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις
τῶν λεγομένων θερμῶν τὰ μὲν ἀλλοτρίαν ἔχει τὴν θερμότητα
1The explanation of the difficulty appears to be that the term 'hotter' is used in several senses; so that different statements, though in verbal contradiction with each other, may yet all be more or less true. There ought, then, to be some clear understanding as to the sense in which natural substances are to be termed hot or cold, solid or fluid. 5For it appears manifest that these are properties on which even life and death are largely dependent, and that they are moreover the causes of sleep and waking, of maturity and old age, of health and disease; while no similar influence belongs to roughness and smoothness, to heaviness and lightness, nor, in short, to any other such properties of matter. That this should be so is but in accordance with rational expectation. For 10hot and cold, solid and fluid, as was stated in a former treatise, are the foundations of the physical elements.
Is then the term hot used in one sense or in many? To answer this we must ascertain what special effect is attributed to a hotter substance, and if there be several such, how many these may be. A body then is in one sense said to be hotter than another, if it impart a greater amount of heat to an object in contact with 15it. In a second sense, that is said to be hotter which causes the keener sensation when touched, and especially if the sensation be attended with pain. This criterion, however, would seem sometimes to be a false one; for occasionally it is the idiosyncrasy of the individual that causes the sensation to be painful. Again, of two things, that is the hotter which the more readily melts a fusible substance, or sets on fire an inflammable 20one. Again, of two masses of one and the same substance, the larger is said to have more heat than the smaller. Again, of two bodies, that is said to be the hotter which takes the longer time in cooling, as also we call that which is rapidly heated hotter than that which is long about it; as though the rapidity implied proximity and this again similarity of nature, while the want of rapidity implied distance and this again 25dissimilarity of nature. The term hotter is used then in all the various senses that have been mentioned, and perhaps in still more. Now it is impossible for one body to be hotter than another in all these different fashions. Boiling water for instance, though it is more scalding than flame, yet has no power of burning or melting combustible or fusible matter, while flame has. So again this boiling water is hotter than a small fire, 30and yet gets cold more rapidly and completely. For in fact fire never becomes cold; whereas water invariably does so. Boiling water, again, is hotter to the touch than oil; yet it gets cold and solid more rapidly than this other fluid. Blood, again, is hotter to the touch than either water or oil, and yet coagulates before them. Iron, again, and stones and other similar bodies are longer in getting heated than water, but when once 35heated burn other substances with a much greater intensity. Another distinction is this.
Is then the term hot used in one sense or in many? To answer this we must ascertain what special effect is attributed to a hotter substance, and if there be several such, how many these may be. A body then is in one sense said to be hotter than another, if it impart a greater amount of heat to an object in contact with 15it. In a second sense, that is said to be hotter which causes the keener sensation when touched, and especially if the sensation be attended with pain. This criterion, however, would seem sometimes to be a false one; for occasionally it is the idiosyncrasy of the individual that causes the sensation to be painful. Again, of two things, that is the hotter which the more readily melts a fusible substance, or sets on fire an inflammable 20one. Again, of two masses of one and the same substance, the larger is said to have more heat than the smaller. Again, of two bodies, that is said to be the hotter which takes the longer time in cooling, as also we call that which is rapidly heated hotter than that which is long about it; as though the rapidity implied proximity and this again similarity of nature, while the want of rapidity implied distance and this again 25dissimilarity of nature. The term hotter is used then in all the various senses that have been mentioned, and perhaps in still more. Now it is impossible for one body to be hotter than another in all these different fashions. Boiling water for instance, though it is more scalding than flame, yet has no power of burning or melting combustible or fusible matter, while flame has. So again this boiling water is hotter than a small fire, 30and yet gets cold more rapidly and completely. For in fact fire never becomes cold; whereas water invariably does so. Boiling water, again, is hotter to the touch than oil; yet it gets cold and solid more rapidly than this other fluid. Blood, again, is hotter to the touch than either water or oil, and yet coagulates before them. Iron, again, and stones and other similar bodies are longer in getting heated than water, but when once 35heated burn other substances with a much greater intensity. Another distinction is this.
649a
1 τὰ δ' οἰκείαν, διαφέρει δὲ τὸ θερμὸν εἶναι οὕτως ἢ
ἐκείνως πλεῖστον· ἐγγὺς γὰρ τοῦ κατὰ συμβεβηκὸς εἶναι
θερμὸν ἀλλὰ μὴ καθ' αὑτὸ θάτερον αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις
λέγοι, εἰ συμβεβηκὸς εἴη τῷ πυρέττοντι εἶναι μουσικῷ, τὸν
5 μουσικὸν εἶναι θερμότερον ἢ τὸν μεθ' ὑγιείας θερμόν. Ἐπεὶ δ'
ἐστὶ τὸ μὲν καθ' αὑτὸ θερμὸν τὸ δὲ κατὰ συμβεβηκός, ψύχεται
μὲν βραδύτερον τὸ καθ' αὑτό, θερμαίνει δὲ μᾶλλον
πολλάκις τὴν αἴσθησιν τὸ κατὰ συμβεβηκός· καὶ πάλιν
καίει μὲν μᾶλλον τὸ καθ' αὑτὸ θερμόν, οἷον ἡ φλὸξ τοῦ
10 ὕδατος τοῦ ζέοντος, θερμαίνει δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἁφὴν τὸ ζέον
μᾶλλον, τὸ κατὰ συμβεβηκὸς θερμόν. Ὥστε φανερὸν ὅτι τὸ
κρῖναι δυοῖν πότερον θερμότερον οὐχ ἁπλοῦν· ὡδὶ μὲν γὰρ
τόδε ἔσται θερμότερον, ὡδὶ δὲ θάτερον. Ἔνια δὲ τῶν τοιούτων
οὐδ' ἔστιν ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ὅτι θερμὸν ἢ μὴ θερμόν. Ὃ μὲν γάρ
15 ποτε τυγχάνει ὂν τὸ ὑποκείμενον, οὐ θερμόν, συνδυαζόμενον
δὲ θερμόν, οἷον εἴ τις θεῖτο ὄνομα ὕδατι ἢ σιδήρῳ θερμῷ.
Τοῦτον γὰρ τὸν τρόπον τὸ αἷμα θερμόν ἐστιν. Καὶ ποιεῖ δὲ
φανερὸν ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ὅτι τὸ ψυχρὸν φύσις τις ἀλλ' οὐ
στέρησίς ἐστιν, ἐν ὅσοις τὸ ὑποκείμενον κατὰ πάθος θερμόν
20 ἐστιν. Τάχα δὲ καὶ ἡ τοῦ πυρὸς φύσις, εἰ ἔτυχε, τοιαύτη
τίς ἐστιν· ἴσως γὰρ τὸ ὑποκείμενόν ἐστιν ἢ καπνὸς ἢ ἄνθραξ,
ὧν τὸ μὲν ἀεὶ θερμόν (ἀναθυμίασις γὰρ ὁ καπνός), ὁ δ'
ἄνθραξ ἀποσβεσθεὶς ψυχρός. Ἔλαιον δὲ καὶ πεύκη γένοιτ'
ἂν ψυχρά. Ἔχει δὲ θερμότητα καὶ τὰ πυρωθέντα πάντα
25 σχεδόν, οἷον κονία καὶ τέφρα, καὶ τὰ ὑποστήματα τῶν
ζῴων, καὶ τῶν περιττωμάτων ἡ χολή, τῷ ἐμπεπυρεῦσθαι
καὶ ἐγκαταλελεῖφθαί τι ἐν αὐτοῖς θερμόν. Ἄλλον δὲ τρόπον
θερμὸν πεύκη καὶ τὰ πίονα, τῷ ταχὺ μεταβάλλειν εἰς ἐνέργειαν
πυρός. Δοκεῖ δὲ τὸ θερμὸν καὶ πηγνύναι καὶ τήκειν.
30 Ὅσα μὲν οὖν ὕδατος μόνον, ταῦτα πήγνυσι τὸ ψυχρόν, ὅσα
δὲ γῆς, τὸ πῦρ· καὶ τῶν θερμῶν πήγνυται ὑπὸ ψυχροῦ ταχὺ
μὲν ὅσα γῆς μᾶλλον, καὶ ἀλύτως, λυτῶς δ', ὅσα
ὕδατος. Ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τούτων ἐν ἑτέροις διώρισται σαφέστερον,
ποῖα τὰ πηκτά, καὶ πήγνυται διὰ τίνας αἰτίας. Τὸ δὲ
35 τί θερμὸν καὶ ποῖον θερμότερον, ἐπειδὴ λέγεται πλεοναχῶς,
1In some of the bodies which are called hot the heat is derived from without, while in others it belongs to the bodies themselves; and it makes a most important difference whether the heat has the former or the latter origin. For to call that one of two bodies the hotter, which is possessed of heat, we may almost say, accidentally and 5not of its own essence, is very much the same thing as if, finding that some man in a fever was a musician, one were to say that musicians are hotter than healthy men. Of that which is hot per se and that which is hot per accidens, the former is the slower to cool, while not rarely the latter is the hotter to the touch. The former again is the more burning of the two-flame, for instance, as compared with boiling 10water-while the latter, as the boiling water, which is hot per accidens, is the more heating to the touch. From all this it is clear that it is no simple matter to decide which of two bodies is the hotter. For the first may be the hotter in one sense, the second the hotter in another. Indeed in some of these cases it is impossible to say simply even whether a thing is hot or not. For the actual substratum may not 15itself be hot, but may be hot when coupled with heat as an attribute, as would be the case if one attached a single name to hot water or hot iron. It is after this manner that blood is hot. In such cases, in those, that is, in which the substratum owes its heat to an external influence, it is plain that cold is not a mere privation, but an actual existence.
There is no knowing but that even fire may be another of 20these cases. For the substratum of fire may be smoke or charcoal, and though the former of these is always hot, smoke being an uprising vapour, yet the latter becomes cold when its flame is extinguished, as also would oil and pinewood under similar circumstances. But even substances that have been burnt nearly all possess some heat, cinders, for example, and ashes, the dejections also of animals, and, among the excretions, 25bile; because some residue of heat has been left in them after their combustion. It is in another sense that pinewood and fat substances are hot; namely, because they rapidly assume the actuality of fire.
Heat appears to cause both coagulation and melting. Now such things as are formed merely of water are solidified by cold, while such as are formed of nothing but earth are solidified by fire. Hot substances 30again are solidified by cold, and, when they consist chiefly of earth, the process of solidification is rapid, and the resulting substance is insoluble; but, when their main constituent is water, the solid matter is again soluble. What kinds of substances, however, admit of being solidified, and what are the causes of solidification, are questions that have already been dealt with more precisely in another treatise.
There is no knowing but that even fire may be another of 20these cases. For the substratum of fire may be smoke or charcoal, and though the former of these is always hot, smoke being an uprising vapour, yet the latter becomes cold when its flame is extinguished, as also would oil and pinewood under similar circumstances. But even substances that have been burnt nearly all possess some heat, cinders, for example, and ashes, the dejections also of animals, and, among the excretions, 25bile; because some residue of heat has been left in them after their combustion. It is in another sense that pinewood and fat substances are hot; namely, because they rapidly assume the actuality of fire.
Heat appears to cause both coagulation and melting. Now such things as are formed merely of water are solidified by cold, while such as are formed of nothing but earth are solidified by fire. Hot substances 30again are solidified by cold, and, when they consist chiefly of earth, the process of solidification is rapid, and the resulting substance is insoluble; but, when their main constituent is water, the solid matter is again soluble. What kinds of substances, however, admit of being solidified, and what are the causes of solidification, are questions that have already been dealt with more precisely in another treatise.
649b
1 οὐ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὑπάρξει πᾶσιν, ἀλλὰ προσδιοριστέον
ὅτι καθ' αὑτὸ μὲν τόδε, κατὰ συμβεβηκὸς δὲ πολλάκις θάτερον,
ἔτι δὲ δυνάμει μὲν τοδί, τοδὶ δὲ κατ' ἐνέργειαν, καὶ
τόνδε μὲν τὸν τρόπον τοδί, τῷ μᾶλλον τὴν ἁφὴν θερμαίνειν,
5 τοδὶ δὲ τῷ φλόγα ποιεῖν καὶ πυροῦν. Λεγομένου δὲ τοῦ
θερμοῦ πολλαχῶς, ἀκολουθήσει δῆλον ὅτι καὶ τὸ ψυχρὸν
κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον. Καὶ περὶ μὲν θερμοῦ καὶ ψυχροῦ καὶ
τῆς ὑπεροχῆς αὐτῶν διωρίσθω τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον.
1In conclusion, then, seeing that the terms hot and hotter are used in many different senses, and that no one substance can be hotter than others in all these senses, we must, when we attribute this character to an object, add such further statements as that this substance is hotter per se, though that other is often hotter per accidens; or again, that this substance 5is potentially hot, that other actually so; or again, that this substance is hotter in the sense of causing a greater feeling of heat when touched, while that other is hotter in the sense of producing flame and burning. The term hot being used in all these various senses, it plainly follows that the term cold will also be used with like ambiguity.
So much then as to the signification of the terms hot and cold, hotter and colder.
So much then as to the signification of the terms hot and cold, hotter and colder.
Book 2,Chapter 3 (649b9–650b13)
Ἐχόμενον δὲ καὶ περὶ ξηροῦ καὶ ὑγροῦ διελθεῖν ἀκολούθως
10 τοῖς εἰρημένοις. Λέγεται δὲ ταῦτα πλεοναχῶς, οἷον τὰ
μὲν δυνάμει τὰ δ' ἐνεργείᾳ. Κρύσταλλος γὰρ καὶ πᾶν τὸ
πεπηγὸς ὑγρὸν λέγεται ξηρὸν μὲν ἐνεργείᾳ καὶ κατὰ συμβεβηκός,
ὄντα δυνάμει καὶ καθ' αὑτὰ ὑγρά, γῆ δὲ καὶ
τέφρα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα μιχθέντα ὑγρῷ ἐνεργείᾳ μὲν ὑγρὰ
15 καὶ κατὰ συμβεβηκός, καθ' αὑτὰ δὲ καὶ δυνάμει ξηρά·
διακριθέντα δὲ ταῦτα τὰ μὲν ὕδατος ἀναπληστικὰ καὶ ἐνεργείᾳ
καὶ δυνάμει ὑγρά, τὰ δὲ γῆς ἅπαντα ξηρά. Καὶ τὸ
κυρίως καὶ ἁπλῶς ξηρὸν τοῦτον μάλιστα λέγεται τὸν τρόπον.
Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ θάτερα τὰ ὑγρὰ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον ἔχει
20 τὸ κυρίως καὶ ἁπλῶς, καὶ ἐπὶ θερμῶν καὶ ψυχρῶν. Τούτων
δὲ διωρισμένων φανερὸν ὅτι τὸ αἷμα ὡδὶ μὲν ἔστι θερμόν,
οἷόν τι ἦν αὐτῷ τὸ αἵματι εἶναι (καθαπερεὶ ὀνόματί τινι σημαίνοιμεν
τὸ ζέον ὕδωρ, οὕτω λέγεται), τὸ δ' ὑποκείμενον
καὶ ὅ ποτε ὂν αἷμά ἐστιν, οὐ θερμόν· καὶ καθ' αὑτό ἐστι μὲν
25 ὡς θερμόν ἐστιν, ἔστι δ' ὡς οὔ. Ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῷ λόγῳ ὑπάρξει
αὐτοῦ ἡ θερμότης, ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ τοῦ λευκοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ λευκόν·
ᾗ δὲ κατὰ πάθος τὸ αἷμα, οὐ καθ' αὑτὸ θερμόν. Ὁμοίως
δὲ καὶ περὶ ξηροῦ καὶ ὑγροῦ. Διὸ καὶ ἐν τῇ φύσει τῶν τοιούτων
τὰ μὲν θερμὰ καὶ ὑγρὰ χωριζόμενα δὲ πήγνυται καὶ
30 ψυχρὰ φαίνεται, οἷον τὸ αἷμα, τὰ δὲ θερμὰ καὶ πάχος
ἔχοντα καθάπερ ἡ χολή, χωριζόμενα δ' ἐκ τῆς φύσεως
τῶν ἐχόντων τοὐναντίον πάσχει· ψύχεται γὰρ καὶ ὑγραίνεται·
τὸ μὲν γὰρ αἷμα ξηραίνεται μᾶλλον, ὑγραίνεται δ'
ἡ ξανθὴ χολή. Τὸ δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον μετέχειν τῶν ἀντικειμένων
35 ὡς ὑπάρχοντα δεῖ τιθέναι τούτοις. Πῶς μὲν οὖν
In natural sequence 10we have next to treat of solid and fluid. These terms are used in various senses. Sometimes, for instance, they denote things that are potentially, at other times things that are actually, solid or fluid. Ice for example, or any other solidified fluid, is spoken of as being actually and accidentally solid, while potentially and essentially it is fluid. Similarly earth and ashes and the like, when mixed with water, are actually and accidentally fluid, 15but potentially and essentially are solid. Now separate the constituents in such a mixture and you have on the one hand the watery components to which its fluidity was due, and these are both actually and potentially fluid, and on the other hand the earthy components, and these are in every way solid; and it is to bodies that are solid in this complete manner that the term 'solid' is most properly and absolutely applicable. So also the opposite term 20'fluid' is strictly and absolutely applicable to that only which is both potentially and actually fluid. The same remark applies also to hot bodies and to cold.
These distinctions, then, being laid down, it is plain that blood is essentially hot in so far as that heat is connoted in its name; just as if boiling water were denoted by a single term, boiling would be connoted in that term. But the substratum of blood, that which it is in substance while it is 25blood in form, is not hot. Blood then in a certain sense is essentially hot, and in another sense is not so. For heat is included in the definition of blood, just as whiteness is included in the definition of a white man, and so far therefore blood is essentially hot. But so far as blood becomes hot from some external influence, it is not hot essentially.
As with hot and cold, so also is it with solid and fluid. We can therefore understand how some 30substances are hot and fluid so long as they remain in the living body, but become perceptibly cold and coagulate so soon as they are separated from it; while others are hot and consistent while in the body, but when withdrawn under a change to the opposite condition, and become cold and fluid. Of the former blood is an example, of the latter bile; for while blood solidifies when thus separated, yellow bile under the same circumstances becomes more fluid.
These distinctions, then, being laid down, it is plain that blood is essentially hot in so far as that heat is connoted in its name; just as if boiling water were denoted by a single term, boiling would be connoted in that term. But the substratum of blood, that which it is in substance while it is 25blood in form, is not hot. Blood then in a certain sense is essentially hot, and in another sense is not so. For heat is included in the definition of blood, just as whiteness is included in the definition of a white man, and so far therefore blood is essentially hot. But so far as blood becomes hot from some external influence, it is not hot essentially.
As with hot and cold, so also is it with solid and fluid. We can therefore understand how some 30substances are hot and fluid so long as they remain in the living body, but become perceptibly cold and coagulate so soon as they are separated from it; while others are hot and consistent while in the body, but when withdrawn under a change to the opposite condition, and become cold and fluid. Of the former blood is an example, of the latter bile; for while blood solidifies when thus separated, yellow bile under the same circumstances becomes more fluid.
650a
1 θερμὸν καὶ πῶς ὑγρόν, καὶ πῶς τῶν ἐναντίων ἡ φύσις τοῦ
αἵματος κεκοινώνηκεν, εἴρηται σχεδόν. Ἐπεὶ δ' ἀνάγκη πᾶν
τὸ αὐξανόμενον λαμβάνειν τροφήν, ἡ δὲ τροφὴ πᾶσιν ἐξ
ὑγροῦ καὶ ξηροῦ, καὶ τούτων ἡ πέψις γίνεται καὶ ἡ μεταβολὴ
5 διὰ τῆς τοῦ θερμοῦ δυνάμεως, καὶ τὰ ζῷα πάντα καὶ τὰ
φυτά, κἂν εἰ μὴ δι' ἄλλην αἰτίαν, ἀλλὰ διὰ ταύτην ἀναγκαῖον
ἔχειν ἀρχὴν θερμοῦ φυσικήν, καὶ ταύτην ὥσπερ † ... αἱ
ἐργασίαι τῆς τροφῆς πλειόνων εἰσὶ μορίων. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ πρώτη
φανερὰ τοῖς ζῴοις λειτουργία διὰ τοῦ στόματος οὖσα καὶ
10 τῶν ἐν τούτῳ μορίων, ὅσων ἡ τροφὴ δεῖται διαιρέσεως. Ἀλλ'
αὕτη μὲν οὐδεμιᾶς αἰτία πέψεως, ἀλλ' εὐπεψίας μᾶλλον·
ἡ γὰρ εἰς μικρὰ διαίρεσις τῆς τροφῆς ῥᾴω ποιεῖ τῷ θερμῷ
τὴν ἐργασίαν· ἡ δὲ τῆς ἄνω καὶ τῆς κάτω κοιλίας ἤδη μετὰ
θερμότητος φυσικῆς ποιεῖται τὴν πέψιν. Ὥσπερ δὲ καὶ
15 τὸ στόμα τῆς ἀκατεργάστου τροφῆς πόρος ἐστί, καὶ τὸ συνεχὲς
αὐτῷ μόριον ὃ καλοῦσιν οἰσοφάγον, ὅσα τῶν ζῴων
ἔχει τοῦτο τὸ μόριον, ἕως εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν, οὕτως καὶ ἄλλας
ἀρχὰς δεῖ πλείους εἶναι, δι' ὧν ἅπαν λήψεται τὸ σῶμα τὴν
τροφήν, ὥσπερ ἐκ φάτνης, ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας καὶ τῆς τῶν ἐντέρων
20 φύσεως. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ φυτὰ λαμβάνει τὴν τροφὴν
κατειργασμένην ἐκ τῆς γῆς ταῖς ῥίζαις (διὸ καὶ περίττωμα
οὐ γίνεται τοῖς φυτοῖς· τῇ γὰρ γῇ καὶ τῇ ἐν αὐτῇ θερμότητι
χρῆται ὥσπερ κοιλίᾳ), τὰ δὲ ζῷα πάντα μὲν σχεδόν,
τὰ δὲ πορευτικὰ φανερῶς, οἷον γῆν ἐν αὑτοῖς ἔχει τὸ
25 τῆς κοιλίας κύτος, ἐξ ἧς, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνα ταῖς ῥίζαις, ταῦτα
δεῖ τινι τὴν τροφὴν λαμβάνειν, ἕως τὸ τῆς ἐχομένης πέψεως
λάβῃ τέλος. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ στόματος ἐργασία παραδίδωσι
τῇ κοιλίᾳ, παρὰ δὲ ταύτης ἕτερον ἀναγκαῖον λαμβάνειν,
ὅπερ συμβέβηκεν· αἱ γὰρ φλέβες κατατείνονται
30 διὰ τοῦ μεσεντερίου παράπαν, κάτωθεν ἀρξάμεναι μέχρι τῆς
κοιλίας. Δεῖ δὲ ταῦτα θεωρεῖν ἔκ τε τῶν ἀνατομῶν καὶ τῆς
φυσικῆς ἱστορίας. Ἐπεὶ δὲ πάσης τροφῆς ἐστί τι δεκτικὸν καὶ
τῶν γινομένων περιττωμάτων, αἱ δὲ φλέβες οἷον ἀγγεῖον
αἵματός εἰσι, φανερὸν ὅτι τὸ αἷμα ἡ τελευταία τροφὴ τοῖς
35 ζῴοις τοῖς ἐναίμοις ἐστί, τοῖς δ' ἀναίμοις τὸ ἀνάλογον. Καὶ διὰ
τοῦτο μὴ λαμβάνουσί τε τροφὴν ὑπολείπει τοῦτο καὶ λαμβάνουσιν
1We must attribute to such substances the possession of opposite properties in a greater or less degree.
In what sense, then, the blood is hot and in what sense fluid, and how far it partakes of the opposite properties, has now been fairly explained. Now since everything that grows must take nourishment, and nutriment in all cases consists of fluid and 5solid substances, and since it is by the force of heat that these are concocted and changed, it follows that all living things, animals and plants alike, must on this account, if on no other, have a natural source of heat. This natural heat, moreover, must belong to many parts, seeing that the organs by which the various elaborations of the food are effected are many in number. For first of all there is the mouth and the parts inside the 10mouth, on which the first share in the duty clearly devolves, in such animals at least as live on food which requires disintegration. The mouth, however, does not actually concoct the food, but merely facilitates concoction; for the subdivision of the food into small bits facilitates the action of heat upon it. After the mouth come the upper and the lower abdominal cavities, and here it is that concoction is effected by the aid of natural heat. 15Again, just as there is a channel for the admission of the unconcocted food into the stomach, namely the mouth, and in some animals the so-called oesophagus, which is continuous with the mouth and reaches to the stomach, so must there also be other and more numerous channels by which the concocted food or nutriment shall pass out of the stomach and intestines into the body at large, and to which these cavities shall serve as a kind of 20manger. For plants get their food from the earth by means of their roots; and this food is already elaborated when taken in, which is the reason why plants produce no excrement, the earth and its heat serving them in the stead of a stomach. But animals, with scarcely an exception, and conspicuously all such as are capable of locomotion, are provided with a stomachal sac, which is as it were an internal substitute for the earth. They must 25therefore have some instrument which shall correspond to the roots of plants, with which they may absorb their food from this sac, so that the proper end of the successive stages of concoction may at last be attained. The mouth then, its duty done, passes over the food to the stomach, and there must necessarily be something to receive it in turn from this. This something is furnished by the blood vessels, which run throughout the whole extent 30of the mesentery from its lowest part right up to the stomach. A description of these will be found in the treatises on Anatomy and Natural History. Now as there is a receptacle for the entire matter taken as food, and also a receptacle for its excremental residue, and again a third receptacle, namely the vessels, which serve as such for the blood, it is plain that this blood must be the final nutritive material in such animals as have it; 35while in bloodless animals the same is the case with the fluid which represents the blood.
In what sense, then, the blood is hot and in what sense fluid, and how far it partakes of the opposite properties, has now been fairly explained. Now since everything that grows must take nourishment, and nutriment in all cases consists of fluid and 5solid substances, and since it is by the force of heat that these are concocted and changed, it follows that all living things, animals and plants alike, must on this account, if on no other, have a natural source of heat. This natural heat, moreover, must belong to many parts, seeing that the organs by which the various elaborations of the food are effected are many in number. For first of all there is the mouth and the parts inside the 10mouth, on which the first share in the duty clearly devolves, in such animals at least as live on food which requires disintegration. The mouth, however, does not actually concoct the food, but merely facilitates concoction; for the subdivision of the food into small bits facilitates the action of heat upon it. After the mouth come the upper and the lower abdominal cavities, and here it is that concoction is effected by the aid of natural heat. 15Again, just as there is a channel for the admission of the unconcocted food into the stomach, namely the mouth, and in some animals the so-called oesophagus, which is continuous with the mouth and reaches to the stomach, so must there also be other and more numerous channels by which the concocted food or nutriment shall pass out of the stomach and intestines into the body at large, and to which these cavities shall serve as a kind of 20manger. For plants get their food from the earth by means of their roots; and this food is already elaborated when taken in, which is the reason why plants produce no excrement, the earth and its heat serving them in the stead of a stomach. But animals, with scarcely an exception, and conspicuously all such as are capable of locomotion, are provided with a stomachal sac, which is as it were an internal substitute for the earth. They must 25therefore have some instrument which shall correspond to the roots of plants, with which they may absorb their food from this sac, so that the proper end of the successive stages of concoction may at last be attained. The mouth then, its duty done, passes over the food to the stomach, and there must necessarily be something to receive it in turn from this. This something is furnished by the blood vessels, which run throughout the whole extent 30of the mesentery from its lowest part right up to the stomach. A description of these will be found in the treatises on Anatomy and Natural History. Now as there is a receptacle for the entire matter taken as food, and also a receptacle for its excremental residue, and again a third receptacle, namely the vessels, which serve as such for the blood, it is plain that this blood must be the final nutritive material in such animals as have it; 35while in bloodless animals the same is the case with the fluid which represents the blood.
650b
1 αὐξάνεται, καὶ χρηστῆς μὲν οὔσης ὑγιεινόν, φαύλης
δὲ φαῦλον. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν τὸ αἷμα τροφῆς ἕνεκεν ὑπάρχει τοῖς
ἐναίμοις, φανερὸν ἐκ τούτων καὶ τῶν τοιούτων. Καὶ γὰρ διὰ
τοῦτο θιγγανόμενον αἴσθησιν οὐ ποιεῖ, ὥσπερ οὐδ' ἄλλο τῶν
5 περιττωμάτων οὐδέν. Οὐδ' ἡ τροφὴ καθάπερ σάρξ· αὕτη γὰρ
θιγγανομένη ποιεῖ αἴσθησιν. Οὐ γὰρ συνεχές ἐστι τὸ αἷμα
ταύτῃ οὐδὲ συμπεφυκός, ἀλλ' οἷον ἐν ἀγγείῳ τυγχάνει κείμενον
ἔν τε τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ ταῖς φλεψίν. Ὃν δὲ τρόπον
λαμβάνει ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὰ μόρια τὴν αὔξησιν, ἔτι δὲ περὶ τροφῆς
10 ὅλως, ἐν τοῖς περὶ γενέσεως καὶ ἐν ἑτέροις οἰκειότερόν
ἐστι διελθεῖν. Νῦν δ' ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον εἰρήσθω (τοσοῦτον γὰρ χρήσιμον),
ὅτι τὸ αἷμα τροφῆς ἕνεκα καὶ τροφῆς τῶν μορίων
ἐστίν.
1This explains why the blood diminishes in quantity when no food is taken, and increases when much is consumed, and also why it becomes healthy and unhealthy according as the food is of the one or the other character. These facts, then, and others of a like kind, make it plain that the purpose of the blood in sanguineous animals is to subserve the 5nutrition of the body. They also explain why no more sensation is produced by touching the blood than by touching one of the excretions or the food, whereas when the flesh is touched sensation is produced. For the blood is not continuous nor united by growth with the flesh, but simply lies loose in its receptacle, that is in the heart and vessels. The manner in which the parts grow at the expense of the blood, and indeed the whole question of 10nutrition, will find a more suitable place for exposition in the treatise on Generation, and in other writings. For our present purpose all that need be said is that the blood exists for the sake of nutrition, that is the nutrition of the parts; and with this much let us therefore content ourselves.
Book 2,Chapter 4 (650b14–651a19)
Τὰς δὲ καλουμένας ἶνας τὸ μὲν ἔχει αἷμα τὸ δ' οὐκ
15 ἔχει, οἷον τὸ τῶν ἐλάφων καὶ προκῶν. Διόπερ οὐ πήγνυται
τὸ τοιοῦτον αἷμα· τοῦ γὰρ αἵματος τὸ μὲν ὑδατῶδες μᾶλλον
ψυχρόν ἐστι, διὸ καὶ οὐ πήγνυται, τὸ δὲ γεῶδες πήγνυται
συνεξατμίζοντος τοῦ ὑγροῦ· αἱ δ' ἶνες γῆς εἰσιν. Συμβαίνει
δ' ἔνιά γε καὶ γλαφυρωτέραν ἔχειν τὴν διάνοιαν τῶν τοιούτων,
20 οὐ διὰ τὴν ψυχρότητα τοῦ αἵματος, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν
λεπτότητα μᾶλλον καὶ διὰ τὸ καθαρὸν εἶναι· τὸ γὰρ γεῶδες
οὐδέτερον ἔχει τούτων. Εὐκινητοτέραν γὰρ ἔχουσι τὴν αἴσθησιν
τὰ λεπτοτέραν ἔχοντα τὴν ὑγρότητα καὶ καθαρωτέραν.
Διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ τῶν ἀναίμων ἔνια συνετωτέραν ἔχει
25 τὴν ψυχὴν ἐνίων ἐναίμων, καθάπερ εἴρηται πρότερον, οἷον ἡ
μέλιττα καὶ τὸ γένος τὸ τῶν μυρμήκων κἂν εἴ τι ἕτερον
τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν. Δειλότερα δὲ τὰ λίαν ὑδατώδη. Ὁ γὰρ φόβος
καταψύχει· προωδοποίηται οὖν τῷ πάθει τὰ τοιαύτην ἔχοντα
τὴν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ κρᾶσιν· τὸ γὰρ ὕδωρ τῷ ψυχρῷ πηκτόν
30 ἐστιν. Διὸ καὶ τἆλλα τὰ ἄναιμα δειλότερα τῶν ἐναίμων
ἐστὶν ὡς ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, καὶ ἀκινητίζει τε φοβούμενα καὶ
προΐεται περιττώματα καὶ μεταβάλλει ἔνια τὰς χρόας αὐτῶν.
Τὰ δὲ πολλὰς ἔχοντα λίαν ἶνας καὶ παχείας γεωδέστερα
τὴν φύσιν ἐστὶ καὶ θυμώδη τὸ ἦθος καὶ ἐκστατικὰ διὰ
35 τὸν θυμόν. Θερμότητος γὰρ ποιητικὸν ὁ θυμός, τὰ δὲ στερεὰ
θερμανθένα μᾶλλον θερμαίνει τῶν ὑγρῶν· αἱ δ' ἶνες στερεὸν
What are called fibres are found in the blood of some animals but not of all. There are none, for instance, in the blood of deer and of roes; 15and for this reason the blood of such animals as these never coagulates. For one part of the blood consists mainly of water and therefore does not coagulate, this process occurring only in the other and earthy constituent, that is to say in the fibres, while the fluid part is evaporating.
Some at any rate of the animals with watery blood have a keener intellect than those whose blood is of an earthier nature. This is due not to the 20coldness of their blood, but rather to its thinness and purity; neither of which qualities belongs to the earthy matter. For the thinner and purer its fluid is, the more easily affected is an animal's sensibility. Thus it is that some bloodless animals, notwithstanding their want of blood, are yet more intelligent than some among the sanguineous kinds. Such for instance, as already said, is the case with the bee and the tribe of ants, and 25whatever other animals there may be of a like nature. At the same time too great an excess of water makes animals timorous. For fear chills the body; so that in animals whose heart contains so watery a mixture the way is prepared for the operation of this emotion. For water is congealed by cold. This also explains why bloodless animals are, as a general rule, more timorous than such as have blood, so that they remain motionless, when 30frightened, and discharge their excretions, and in some instances change colour. Such animals, on the other hand, as have thick and abundant fibres in their blood are of a more earthy nature, and of a choleric temperament, and liable to bursts of passion. For anger is productive of heat; and solids, when they have been made hot, give off more heat than fluids. The fibres therefore, being earthy and solid, are turned into so many hot embers in 35the blood, like the embers in a vapour-bath, and cause ebullition in the fits of passion.
Some at any rate of the animals with watery blood have a keener intellect than those whose blood is of an earthier nature. This is due not to the 20coldness of their blood, but rather to its thinness and purity; neither of which qualities belongs to the earthy matter. For the thinner and purer its fluid is, the more easily affected is an animal's sensibility. Thus it is that some bloodless animals, notwithstanding their want of blood, are yet more intelligent than some among the sanguineous kinds. Such for instance, as already said, is the case with the bee and the tribe of ants, and 25whatever other animals there may be of a like nature. At the same time too great an excess of water makes animals timorous. For fear chills the body; so that in animals whose heart contains so watery a mixture the way is prepared for the operation of this emotion. For water is congealed by cold. This also explains why bloodless animals are, as a general rule, more timorous than such as have blood, so that they remain motionless, when 30frightened, and discharge their excretions, and in some instances change colour. Such animals, on the other hand, as have thick and abundant fibres in their blood are of a more earthy nature, and of a choleric temperament, and liable to bursts of passion. For anger is productive of heat; and solids, when they have been made hot, give off more heat than fluids. The fibres therefore, being earthy and solid, are turned into so many hot embers in 35the blood, like the embers in a vapour-bath, and cause ebullition in the fits of passion.
651a
1 καὶ γεῶδες, ὥστε γίνονται οἷον πυρίαι ἐν τῷ αἵματι καὶ ζέσιν
ποιοῦσιν ἐν τοῖς θυμοῖς. Διὸ οἱ ταῦροι καὶ οἱ κάπροι θυμώδεις
καὶ ἐκστατικοί· τὸ γὰρ αἷμα τούτων ἰνωδέστατον, καὶ
τό γε τοῦ ταύρου τάχιστα πήγνυται πάντων. Ἐξαιρουμένων δὲ
5 τούτων τῶν ἰνῶν οὐ πήγνυται τὸ αἷμα· καθάπερ γὰρ ἐκ πηλοῦ
εἴ τις ἐξέλοι τὸ γεῶδες, οὐ πήγνυται τὸ ὕδωρ. οὕτω καὶ τὸ
αἷμα· αἱ γὰρ ἶνες γῆς. Μὴ ἐξαιρουμένων δὲ πήγνυται, οἷον
ὑγρὰ γῆ ὑπὸ ψύχους· τοῦ γὰρ θερμοῦ ὑπὸ τοῦ ψυχροῦ ἐκθλιβομένου
συνεξατμίζει τὸ ὑγρόν, καθάπερ εἴρηται πρότερον, καὶ
10 πήγνυται οὐχ ὑπὸ θερμοῦ ἀλλ' ὑπὸ ψυχροῦ ξηραινόμενον. Ἐν δὲ
τοῖς σώμασιν ὑγρόν ἐστι διὰ τὴν θερμότητα τὴν ἐν τοῖς ζῴοις.
Πολλῶν δ' ἐστὶν αἰτία ἡ τοῦ αἵματος φύσις καὶ κατὰ
τὸ ἦθος τοῖς ζῴοις καὶ κατὰ τὴν αἴσθησιν, εὐλόγως· ὕλη
γάρ ἐστι παντὸς τοῦ σώματος· ἡ γὰρ τροφὴ ὕλη, τὸ δ' αἷμα
15 ἡ ἐσχάτη τροφή. Πολλὴν οὖν ποιεῖ διαφορὰν θερμὸν ὂν
καὶ ψυχρὸν καὶ λεπτὸν καὶ παχὺ καὶ θολερὸν καὶ καθαρόν.
Ἰχὼρ δ' ἐστὶ τὸ ὑδατῶδες τοῦ αἵματος διὰ τὸ μήπω
πεπέφθαι ἢ διεφθάρθαι, ὥστε ὁ μὲν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἰχώρ, ὁ
δ' αἵματος χάριν ἐστίν.
1This explains why bulls and boars are so choleric and so passionate. For their blood is exceedingly rich in fibres, and the bull's at any rate coagulates more rapidly than that of any other animal. If these fibres, that is to say if the earthy constituents of which we are speaking, are taken out of the blood, the fluid that 5remains behind will no longer coagulate; just as the watery residue of mud will not coagulate after removal of the earth. But if the fibres are left the fluid coagulates, as also does mud, under the influence of cold. For when the heat is expelled by the cold, the fluid, as has been already stated, passes off with it by evaporation, and the residue is dried up and solidified, not by heat but by cold. So 10long, however, as the blood is in the body, it is kept fluid by animal heat.
The character of the blood affects both the temperament and the sensory faculties of animals in many ways. This is indeed what might reasonably be expected, seeing that the blood is the material of which the whole body is made. For nutriment supplies the material, and the blood is the ultimate nutriment. It makes then a considerable 15difference whether the blood be hot or cold, thin or thick, turbid or clear.
The watery part of the blood is serum; and it is watery, either owing to its not being yet concocted, or owing to its having become corrupted; so that one part of the serum is the resultant of a necessary process, while another part is material intended to serve for the formation of the blood.
The character of the blood affects both the temperament and the sensory faculties of animals in many ways. This is indeed what might reasonably be expected, seeing that the blood is the material of which the whole body is made. For nutriment supplies the material, and the blood is the ultimate nutriment. It makes then a considerable 15difference whether the blood be hot or cold, thin or thick, turbid or clear.
The watery part of the blood is serum; and it is watery, either owing to its not being yet concocted, or owing to its having become corrupted; so that one part of the serum is the resultant of a necessary process, while another part is material intended to serve for the formation of the blood.
Book 2,Chapter 5 (651a20–651b19)
20 Πιμελὴ δὲ καὶ στέαρ διαφέρουσι μὲν ἀλλήλων κατὰ
τὴν τοῦ αἵματος διαφοράν. Ἔστι γὰρ ἑκάτερον αὐτῶν αἷμα
πεπεμμένον δι' εὐτροφίαν, καὶ τὸ μὴ καταναλισκόμενον εἰς
τὸ σαρκῶδες μόριον τῶν ζῴων, εὔπεπτον δὲ καὶ εὐτραφές.
Δηλοῖ δὲ τὸ λιπαρὸν αὐτῶν· τῶν γὰρ ὑγρῶν τὸ λιπαρὸν
25 κοινὸν ἀέρος καὶ πυρός ἐστιν. Διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲν ἔχει τῶν ἀναίμων
οὔτε πιμελὴν οὔτε στέαρ, ὅτι οὐδ' αἷμα. Τῶν δ' ἐναίμων
τὰ μὲν σωματῶδες ἔχοντα τὸ αἷμα στέαρ ἔχει μᾶλλον. Τὸ
γὰρ στέαρ γεῶδές ἐστι, διὸ πήγνυται καθάπερ καὶ τὸ ἰνῶδες,
καὶ αὐτὸ καὶ οἱ ζωμοὶ οἱ τοιοῦτοι· ὀλίγον γὰρ ἔχει ὕδατος,
30 τὸ δὲ πολὺ γῆς. Διὸ τὰ μὴ ἀμφώδοντα ἀλλὰ κερατώδη
στέαρ ἔχει. Φανερὰ δ' ἡ φύσις αὐτῶν τοῦ τοιούτου στοιχείου
πλήρης οὖσα τῷ κερατώδης εἶναι καὶ ἀστραγάλους ἔχειν·
ἅπαντα γὰρ ξηρὰ καὶ γεηρὰ τὴν φύσιν ἐστίν. Τὰ δ' ἀμφώδοντα
καὶ ἀκέρατα καὶ πολυσχιδῆ πιμελὴν ἔχει ἀντὶ στέατος,
35 ἣ οὐ πήγνυται οὐδὲ θρύπτεται ξηραινομένη διὰ τὸ μὴ
εἶναι γεώδη τὴν φύσιν αὐτῆς. Μέτρια μὲν οὖν ταῦτα ὄντα ἐν
τοῖς μορίοις τῶν ζῴων ὠφελεῖ (πρὸς μὲν γὰρ αἴσθησιν οὐκ
The differences between lard and 20suet correspond to differences of blood. For both are blood concocted into these forms as a result of abundant nutrition, being that surplus blood that is not expended on the fleshy part of the body, and is of an easily concocted and fatty character. This is shown by the unctuous aspect of these substances; for such unctuous aspect in fluids is due to a combination of air and fire. It follows from what 25has been said that no non-sanguineous animals have either lard or suet; for they have no blood. Among sanguineous animals those whose blood is dense have suet rather than lard. For suet is of an earthy nature, that is to say, it contains but a small proportion of water and is chiefly composed of earth; and this it is that makes it coagulate, just as the fibrous matter of blood coagulates, or broths which 30contain such fibrous matter. Thus it is that in those horned animals that have no front teeth in the upper jaw the fat consists of suet. For the very fact that they have horns and huckle-bones shows that their composition is rich in this earthy element; for all such appurtenances are solid and earthy in character. On the other hand in those hornless animals that have front teeth in both jaws, and whose 35feet are divided into toes, there is no suet, but in its place lard; and this, not being of an earthy character, neither coagulates nor dries up into a friable mass.
651b
1 ἐμποδίζει, πρὸς δ' ὑγίειαν καὶ δύναμιν ἔχει βοήθειαν),
ὑπερβάλλοντα δὲ τῷ πλήθει φθείρει καὶ βλάπτει. Εἰ γὰρ
πᾶν γένοιτο τὸ σῶμα πιμελὴ καὶ στέαρ, ἀπόλοιτ' ἄν. Ζῷον
μὲν γάρ ἐστι κατὰ τὸ αἰσθητικὸν μόριον, ἡ δὲ σὰρξ καὶ τὸ
5 ἀνάλογον αἰσθητικόν· τὸ δ' αἷμα, ὥσπερ εἴρηται καὶ πρότερον,
οὐκ ἔχει αἴσθησιν, διὸ οὐδὲ πιμελὴ οὐδὲ στέαρ· αἷμα
γὰρ πεπεμμένον ἐστίν. Ὥστ' εἰ πᾶν γένοιτο τὸ σῶμα τοιοῦτον,
οὐκ ἂν ἔχοι οὐδεμίαν αἴσθησιν. Διὸ καὶ γηράσκει ταχέως τὰ
λίαν πίονα· ὀλίγαιμα γὰρ ἅτε εἰς τὴν πιότητα ἀναλισκομένου
10 τοῦ αἵματος, τὰ δ' ὀλίγαιμα ἤδη προωδοποίηται πρὸς
τὴν φθοράν· ἡ γὰρ φθορὰ ὀλιγαιμία τίς ἐστι, καὶ τὸ ὀλίγον
παθητικὸν καὶ ὑπὸ ψυχροῦ τοῦ τυχόντος καὶ ὑπὸ θερμοῦ.
Καὶ ἀγονώτερα δὴ τὰ πίονά ἐστι διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίαν· ὃ
γὰρ ἔδει ἐκ τοῦ αἵματος εἰς τὴν γονὴν ἰέναι καὶ τὸ σπέρμα,
15 τοῦτ' εἰς τὴν πιμελὴν ἀναλίσκεται καὶ τὸ στέαρ· πεττόμενον
γὰρ τὸ αἷμα γίνεται ταῦτα, ὥστε ἢ ὅλως οὐ γίνεται περίττωμα
αὐτοῖς οὐδὲν ἢ ὀλίγον. Καὶ περὶ μὲν αἵματος καὶ
ἰχῶρος καὶ πιμελῆς καὶ στέατος, τί τέ ἐστιν ἕκαστον αὐτῶν
καὶ διὰ τίνας αἰτίας, εἴρηται.
1Both lard and suet when present in moderate amount are beneficial; for they contribute to health and strength, while they are no hindrance to sensation. But when they are present in great excess, they are injurious and destructive. For were the whole body formed of them it would perish. For an animal is an animal in virtue of its sensory 5part, that is in virtue of its flesh, or of the substance analogous to flesh. But the blood, as before stated, is not sensitive; as therefore is neither lard nor suet, seeing that they are nothing but concocted blood. Were then the whole body composed of these substances, it would be utterly without sensation. Such animals, again, as are excessively fat age rapidly. For so much of their blood is used in forming fat, that they 10have but little left; and when there is but little blood the way is already open for decay. For decay may be said to be deficiency of blood, the scantiness of which renders it liable, like all bodies of small bulk, to be injuriously affected by any chance excess of heat or cold. For the same reason fat animals are less prolific than others. For that part of the blood which should go to form semen and seed is used up in the 15production of lard and suet, which are nothing but concocted blood; so that in these animals there is either no reproductive excretion at all, or only a scanty amount.
Book 2,Chapter 6 (651b20–652a23)
20 Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ὁ μυελὸς αἵματός τις φύσις, καὶ οὐχ
ὥσπερ οἴονταί τινες, τῆς γονῆς σπερματικὴ δύναμις. Δηλοῖ
δ' ἐν τοῖς νέοις πάμπαν· ἅτε γὰρ ἐξ αἵματος συνεστώτων
τῶν μορίων καὶ τῆς τροφῆς οὔσης τοῖς ἐμβρύοις αἵματος,
καὶ ἐν τοῖς ὀστοῖς ὁ μυελὸς αἱματώδης ἐστίν· αὐξανομένων
25 δὲ καὶ πεττομένων, καθάπερ καὶ τὰ μόρια μεταβάλλει
καὶ τὰ σπλάγχνα τὰς χρόας (ὑπερβολῇ γὰρ αἱματῶδες
καὶ τῶν σπλάγχνων ἕκαστόν ἐστιν ἔτι νέων ὄντων), οὕτω καὶ
ὁ μυελός· καὶ τῶν μὲν πιμελωδῶν λιπαρὸς καὶ πιμελῇ
ὅμοιος, ὅσοις δὲ μὴ πιμελῇ ὅμοιος ἀλλὰ στέαρ γίνεται τὸ
30 αἷμα πεττόμενον, τούτοις δὲ στεατώδης. Διὸ τοῖς μὲν κερατοφόροις
καὶ μὴ ἀμφώδουσι στεατώδης, τοῖς δ' ἀμφώδουσι
καὶ πολυσχιδέσι πιμελώδης. Ἥκιστα δὲ τοιοῦτος ὁ ῥαχίτης
ἐστὶ μυελὸς διὰ τὸ δεῖν αὐτὸν εἶναι συνεχῆ καὶ διέχειν διὰ
πάσης τῆς ῥάχεως διῃρημένης κατὰ τοὺς σφονδύλους· λιπαρὸς
35 δ' ὢν ἢ στεατώδης οὐκ ἂν ὁμοίως ἦν συνεχής, ἀλλ' ἢ
θραυστὸς ἢ ὑγρός. Ἔνια δ' οὐκ ἔχει τῶν ζῴων ὡς ἀξίως εἰπεῖν
μυελόν, ὅσων τὰ ὀστᾶ ἰσχυρὰ καὶ πυκνά, οἷον τὰ τοῦ
So much then of blood and serum, and of lard and suet. Each of these has been described, and the purposes told for which they severally exist. The marrow also is of the nature of blood, and not, as some think, the germinal force of the semen. That this is the 20case is quite evident in very young animals. For in the embryo the marrow of the bones has a blood-like appearance, which is but natural, seeing that the parts are all constructed out of blood, and that it is on blood that the embryo is nourished. But, as the young animal grows up and ripens into maturity, the marrow changes its colour, just as do the external parts and the viscera. For the viscera also in animals, so long 25as they are young, have each and all a blood-like look, owing to the large amount of this fluid which they contain.
The consistency of the marrow agrees with that of the fat. For when the fat consists of lard, then the marrow also is unctuous and lard-like; but when the blood is converted by concoction into suet, and does not assume the form of lard, then the marrow also has a suety character. In those animals, therefore, 30that have horns and are without upper front teeth, the marrow has the character of suet; while it takes the form of lard in those that have front teeth in both jaws, and that also have the foot divided into toes. What has ben said hardly applies to the spinal marrow. For it is necessary that this shall be continuous and extend without break through the whole backbone, inasmuch as this bone consists of separate vertebrae. But 35were the spinal marrow either of unctuous fat or of suet, it could not hold together in such a continuous mass as it does, but would either be too fluid or too frangible.
The consistency of the marrow agrees with that of the fat. For when the fat consists of lard, then the marrow also is unctuous and lard-like; but when the blood is converted by concoction into suet, and does not assume the form of lard, then the marrow also has a suety character. In those animals, therefore, 30that have horns and are without upper front teeth, the marrow has the character of suet; while it takes the form of lard in those that have front teeth in both jaws, and that also have the foot divided into toes. What has ben said hardly applies to the spinal marrow. For it is necessary that this shall be continuous and extend without break through the whole backbone, inasmuch as this bone consists of separate vertebrae. But 35were the spinal marrow either of unctuous fat or of suet, it could not hold together in such a continuous mass as it does, but would either be too fluid or too frangible.
652a
1 λέοντος· τούτου γὰρ τὰ ὀστᾶ, διὰ τὸ πάμπαν ἄσημον ἔχειν,
δοκεῖ οὐκ ἔχειν ὅλως μυελόν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ τὴν μὲν τῶν ὀστῶν
ἀνάγκη φύσιν ὑπάρχειν τοῖς ζῴοις, ἢ τὸ ἀνάλογον τοῖς
ὀστοῖς, οἷον τοῖς ἐνύδροις τὴν ἄκανθαν, ἀναγκαῖον ἐνίοις ὑπάρχειν
5 καὶ μυελόν, ἐμπεριλαμβανομένης τῆς τροφῆς ἐξ ἧς
γίνεται τὰ ὀστᾶ. Ὅτι δ' ἡ τροφὴ πᾶσιν αἷμα, εἴρηται πρότερον.
Εὐλόγως δὲ καὶ στεατώδεις οἱ μυελοὶ καὶ πιμελώδεις
εἰσίν· διὰ γὰρ τὴν ἀλέαν τὴν γινομένην ὑπὸ τοῦ περιέχεσθαι
τοῖς ὀστοῖς πέττεται τὸ αἷμα, ἡ δὲ καθ' αὑτὸ πέψις αἵματος
10 στέαρ καὶ πιμελή ἐστιν. Καὶ ἐν τοῖς δὴ τὰ ὀστᾶ
πυκνὰ ἔχουσι καὶ ἰσχυρὰ εὐλόγως ἐν τοῖς μὲν οὐκ ἔνεστι,
τοῖς δ' ὀλίγος ἔνεστιν· εἰς γὰρ τὰ ὀστᾶ ἀναλίσκεται ἡ
τροφή. Ἐν δὲ τοῖς μὴ ἔχουσιν ὀστᾶ ἀλλ' ἄκανθαν ὁ ῥαχίτης
μόνος ἐστὶ μυελός· ὀλίγαιμά τε γὰρ φύσει ὑπάρχει ὄντα,
15 καὶ κοίλη ἄκανθα μόνον ἡ τῆς ῥάχεώς ἐστιν. Διὸ ἐν ταύτῃ
ἐγγίνεται· μόνη τε γὰρ ἔχει χώραν, καὶ μόνη δεῖται συνδέσμου
διὰ τὰς διαλήψεις. Διὸ καὶ ὁ ἐνταῦθα μυελός, ὥςπερ
εἴρηται, ἀλλοιότερός ἐστιν· διὰ τὸ ἀντὶ περόνης γὰρ
γίνεσθαι γλίσχρος καὶ νευρώδης ἐστίν, ἵν' ἔχῃ τάσιν. Διὰ
20 τί μὲν οὖν μυελὸν ἔχει τὰ ζῷα τὰ ἔχοντα μυελόν, εἴρηται·
καὶ τί ἐστιν ὁ μυελός, ἐκ τούτων φανερόν, ὅτι τῆς αἱματικῆς
τροφῆς τῆς εἰς ὀστᾶ καὶ ἄκανθαν μεριζομένης ἐστὶ
τὸ ἐμπεριλαμβανόμενον περίττωμα πεφθέν.
1There are some animals that can hardly be said to have any marrow. These are those whose bones are strong and solid, as is the case with the lion. For in this animal the marrow is so utterly insignificant that the bones look as though they had none at all. However, as it is necessary that animals shall have bones or something analogous to 5them, such as the fish-spines of water-animals, it is also a matter of necessity that some of these bones shall contain marrow; for the substance contained within the bones is the nutriment out of which these are formed. Now the universal nutriment, as already stated, is blood; and the blood within the bone, owing to the heat which is developed in it from its being thus surrounded, undergoes concoction, and self-concocted blood 10is suet or lard; so that it is perfectly intelligible how the marrow within the bone comes to have the character of these substances. So also it is easy to understand why, in those animals that have strong and compact bones, some of these should be entirely void of marrow, while the rest contain but little of it; for here the nutriment is spent in forming the bones.
Those animals that have fish-spines in place of bones have 15no other marrow than that of the chine. For in the first place they have naturally but a small amount of blood; and secondly the only hollow fish-spine is that of the chine. In this then marrow is formed; this being the only spine in which there is space for it, and, moreover, being the only one which owing to its division into parts requires a connecting bond. This too is the reason why the marrow of the chine, as already 20mentioned, is somewhat different from that of other bones. For, having to act the part of a clasp, it must be of glutinous character, and at the same time sinewy so as to admit of stretching.
Such then are the reasons for the existence of marrow, in those animals that have any, and such its nature. It is evidently the surplus of the sanguineous nutriment apportioned to the bones and fish-spines, which has undergone concoction 25owing to its being enclosed within them.
Those animals that have fish-spines in place of bones have 15no other marrow than that of the chine. For in the first place they have naturally but a small amount of blood; and secondly the only hollow fish-spine is that of the chine. In this then marrow is formed; this being the only spine in which there is space for it, and, moreover, being the only one which owing to its division into parts requires a connecting bond. This too is the reason why the marrow of the chine, as already 20mentioned, is somewhat different from that of other bones. For, having to act the part of a clasp, it must be of glutinous character, and at the same time sinewy so as to admit of stretching.
Such then are the reasons for the existence of marrow, in those animals that have any, and such its nature. It is evidently the surplus of the sanguineous nutriment apportioned to the bones and fish-spines, which has undergone concoction 25owing to its being enclosed within them.
Book 2,Chapter 7 (652a24–653b18)
Περὶ δ' ἐγκεφάλου σχεδόν ἐστιν ἐχόμενον εἰπεῖν· πολλοῖς
25 γὰρ καὶ ὁ ἐγκέφαλος δοκεῖ μυελὸς εἶναι καὶ ἀρχὴ
τοῦ μυελοῦ διὰ τὸ συνεχῆ τὸν ῥαχίτην αὐτῷ ὁρᾶν μυελόν.
Ἔτι δὲ πᾶν τοὐναντίον αὐτῷ τὴν φύσιν ὡς εἰπεῖν· ὁ μὲν γὰρ
ἐγκέφαλος ψυχρότατον τῶν ἐν τῷ σώματι μορίων, ὁ δὲ
μυελὸς θερμὸς τὴν φύσιν· δηλοῖ δ' ἡ λιπαρότης αὐτοῦ καὶ
30 τὸ πῖον. Διὸ καὶ συνεχὴς ὁ ῥαχίτης τῷ ἐγκεφάλῳ ἐστίν·
ἀεὶ γὰρ ἡ φύσις μηχανᾶται πρὸς τὴν ἑκάστου ὑπερβολὴν
βοήθειαν τὴν τοῦ ἐναντίου παρεδρίαν, ἵνα ἀνισάζῃ τὴν θατέρου
ὑπερβολὴν θάτερον. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ὁ μυελὸς θερμόν ἐστι, δῆλον
ἐκ πολλῶν· ἡ δὲ τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου ψυχρότης φανερὰ μὲν καὶ
35 κατὰ τὴν θίξιν, ἔτι δ' ἀναιμότατον τῶν ὑγρῶν τῶν ἐν τῷ
σώματι πάντων (οὐδ' ὁτιοῦν γὰρ αἵματος ἔχει ἐν αὑτῷ) καὶ
From the marrow we pass on in natural sequence to the brain. For there are many who think that the brain itself consists of marrow, and that it forms the commencement of that substance, because they see that the spinal marrow is continuous with it. In reality the two may be said to be utterly opposite to each other in character. For of all the parts of the body there is none so cold as 30the brain; whereas the marrow is of a hot nature, as is plainly shown by its fat and unctuous character. Indeed this is the very reason why the brain and spinal marrow are continuous with each other. For, wherever the action of any part is in excess, nature so contrives as to set by it another part with an excess of contrary action, so that the excesses of the two may counterbalance each other. Now that the marrow is hot is 35clearly shown by many indications. The coldness of the brain is also manifest enough.
652b
1 αὐχμηρότατον. Ἔστι δ' οὔτε περίττωμα οὔτε τῶν συνεχῶν
μορίων, ἀλλὰ ἴδιος ἡ φύσις, καὶ εὐλόγως τοιαύτη. Ὅτι μὲν
οὖν οὐκ ἔχει συνέχειαν οὐδεμίαν πρὸς τὰ αἰσθητικὰ μόρια, δῆλον
μὲν καὶ διὰ τῆς ὄψεως, ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον τῷ μηδεμίαν
5 ποιεῖν αἴσθησιν θιγγανόμενος, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τὸ αἷμα οὐδὲ τὸ
περίττωμα τῶν ζῴων. Ὑπάρχει δ' ἐν τοῖς ζῴοις πρὸς τὴν τῆς
φύσεως ὅλης σωτηρίαν. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ ζῴου τὴν ψυχὴν τιθέασι
πῦρ ἢ τοιαύτην τινὰ δύναμιν φορτικῶς τιθέντες· βέλτιον
δ' ἴσως φάναι ἐν τοιούτῳ τινὶ σώματι συνεστάναι. Τούτου
10 δ' αἴτιον ὅτι τοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς ἔργοις ὑπηρετικώτατον τῶν
σωμάτων τὸ θερμόν ἐστιν· τὸ τρέφειν γὰρ καὶ κινεῖν ψυχῆς
ἔργον ἐστί, ταῦτα δὲ διὰ ταύτης μάλιστα γίνεται τῆς δυνάμεως.
Ὅμοιον οὖν τὸ τὴν ψυχὴν εἶναι φάναι πῦρ, καὶ τὸ
πρίονα ἢ τρύπανον τὸν τέκτονα ἢ τὴν τεκτονικήν, ὅτι τὸ ἔργον
15 περαίνεται ἐγγὺς ἀλλήλων οὖσιν. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν θερμότητος
τὰ ζῷα μετέχειν ἀναγκαῖον, δῆλον ἐκ τούτων. Ἐπεὶ δ' ἅπαντα
δεῖται τῆς ἐναντίας ῥοπῆς, ἵνα τυγχάνῃ τοῦ μετρίου
καὶ τοῦ μέσου (τὴν γὰρ οὐσίαν ἔχει τοῦτο καὶ τὸν λόγον, τῶν
δ' ἄκρων ἑκάτερον οὐκ ἔχει χωρίς), διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν
20 πρὸς τὸν τῆς καρδίας τόπον καὶ τὴν ἐν αὐτῇ θερμότητα μεμηχάνηται
τὸν ἐγκέφαλον ἡ φύσις, καὶ τούτου χάριν ὑπάρχει
τοῦτο τὸ μόριον τοῖς ζῴοις, τὴν φύσιν ἔχον κοινὴν ὕδατος
καὶ γῆς. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὰ ἔναιμα ἔχει πάντα ἐγκέφαλον,
τῶν δ' ἄλλων οὐδὲν ὡς εἰπεῖν, πλὴν ὅτι κατὰ τὸ ἀνάλογον,
25 οἷον ὁ πολύπους· ὀλιγόθερμα γὰρ πάντα διὰ τὴν
ἀναιμίαν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἐγκέφαλος εὔκρατον ποιεῖ τὴν ἐν τῇ
καρδίᾳ θερμότητα καὶ ζέσιν· ἵνα δὲ καὶ τοῦτο τὸ μόριον
τυγχάνῃ μετρίας θερμότητος, ἀφ' ἑκατέρας τῆς φλεβός,
τῆς τε μεγάλης καὶ τῆς καλουμένης ἀορτῆς, τελευτῶσιν αἱ
30 φλέβες εἰς τὴν μήνιγγα τὴν περὶ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον. Πρὸς δὲ
τὸ τῇ θερμότητι μὴ βλάπτειν, ἀντὶ μὲν μεγάλων ὀλίγων
πυκναὶ καὶ λεπταὶ φλέβες περιέχουσιν αὐτόν, ἀντὶ δὲ πολλοῦ
καὶ παχέος αἵματος λεπτὸν καὶ καθαρόν. Διὸ καὶ τὰ
ῥεύματα τοῖς σώμασιν ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐστι τὴν ἀρχήν,
35 ὅσοις ἂν ᾖ τὰ περὶ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον ψυχρότερα τῆς συμμέτρου
κράσεως· ἀναθυμιωμένης γὰρ διὰ τῶν φλεβῶν ἄνω τῆς
1For in the first place it is cold even to the touch; and, secondly, of all the fluid parts of the body it is the driest and the one that has the least blood; for in fact it has no blood at all in its proper substance. This brain is not residual matter, nor yet is it one of the parts which are anatomically continuous with each other; 5but it has a character peculiar to itself, as might indeed be expected. That it has no continuity with the organs of sense is plain from simple inspection, and is still more clearly shown by the fact, that, when it is touched, no sensation is produced; in which respect it resembles the blood of animals and their excrement. The purpose of its presence in animals is no less than the preservation of the whole 10body. For some writers assert that the soul is fire or some such force. This, however, is but a rough and inaccurate assertion; and it would perhaps be better to say that the soul is incorporate in some substance of a fiery character. The reason for this being so is that of all substances there is none so suitable for ministering to the operations of the soul as that which is possessed of heat. For nutrition and 15the imparting of motion are offices of the soul, and it is by heat that these are most readily effected. To say then that the soul is fire is much the same thing as to confound the auger or the saw with the carpenter or his craft, simply because the work is wrought by the two in conjunction. So far then this much is plain, that all animals must necessarily have a certain amount of heat. But as all influences 20require to be counterbalanced, so that they may be reduced to moderation and brought to the mean (for in the mean, and not in either extreme, lies the true and rational position), nature has contrived the brain as a counterpoise to the region of the heart with its contained heat, and has given it to animals to moderate the latter, combining in it the properties of earth and water. For this reason it is, that every 25sanguineous animal has a brain; whereas no bloodless creature has such an organ, unless indeed it be, as the Poulp, by analogy. For where there is no blood, there in consequence there is but little heat. The brain, then, tempers the heat and seething of the heart. In order, however, that it may not itself be absolutely without heat, but may have a moderate amount, branches run from both blood-vessels, that is 30to say from the great vessel and from what is called the aorta, and end in the membrane which surrounds the brain; while at the same time, in order to prevent any injury from the heat, these encompassing vessels, instead of being few and large, are numerous and small, and their blood scanty and clear, instead of being abundant and thick. We can now understand why defluxions have their origin in the head, and 35occur whenever the parts about the brain have more than a due proportion of coldness.
653a
1 τροφῆς τὸ περίττωμα ψυχόμενον διὰ τὴν τοῦ τόπου τούτου
δύναμιν ῥεύματα ποιεῖ φλέγματος καὶ ἰχῶρος. Δεῖ δὲ λαβεῖν,
ὡς μεγάλῳ παρεικάζοντα μικρόν, ὁμοίως συμβαίνειν
ὥσπερ τὴν τῶν ὑετῶν γένεσιν· ἀναθυμιωμένης γὰρ ἐκ τῆς
5 γῆς τῆς ἀτμίδος καὶ φερομένης ὑπὸ τοῦ θερμοῦ πρὸς τὸν ἄνω
τόπον, ὅταν ἐν τῷ ὑπὲρ τῆς γῆς γένηται ἀέρι ὄντι ψυχρῷ,
συνίσταται πάλιν εἰς ὕδωρ διὰ τὴν ψύξιν καὶ ῥεῖ κάτω πρὸς
τὴν γῆν. Ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τούτων ἐν ταῖς τῶν νόσων ἀρχαῖς
ἁρμόττει λέγειν, ἐφ' ὅσον τῆς φυσικῆς φιλοσοφίας ἐστὶν
10 εἰπεῖν περὶ αὐτῶν· ποιεῖ δὲ καὶ τὸν ὕπνον τοῖς ζῴοις τοῦτο
τὸ μόριον τοῖς ἔχουσιν ἐγκέφαλον, τοῖς δὲ μὴ ἔχουσι τὸ ἀνάλογον.
Καταψῦχον γὰρ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς τροφῆς τοῦ αἵματος
ἐπίρρυσιν, ἢ καὶ διά τινας ὁμοίας αἰτίας ἄλλας, βαρύνει
τε τὸν τόπον (διὸ τὴν κεφαλὴν καρηβαροῦσιν οἱ ὑπνώσσοντες)
15 καὶ κάτω ποιεῖ τὸ θερμὸν ὑποφεύγειν μετὰ τοῦ αἵματος.
Διὸ πλεῖον ἀθροιζόμενον ἐπὶ τὸν κάτω τόπον ἀπεργάζεται
τὸν ὕπνον, καὶ τὸ δύνασθαι ἑστάναι ὀρθὰ ἀφαιρεῖται,
ὅσα τῶν ζῴων ὀρθὰ τὴν φύσιν ἐστί, τῶν δ' ἄλλων τὴν ὀρθότητα
τῆς κεφαλῆς· περὶ ὧν εἴρηται καθ' αὑτὰ ἔν τε τοῖς
20 περὶ αἰσθήσεως καὶ περὶ ὕπνου διωρισμένοις. Ὅτι δ' ἐστὶν ὁ
ἐγκέφαλος κοινὸς ὕδατος καὶ γῆς, δηλοῖ τὸ συμβαῖνον περὶ
αὐτόν· ἑψόμενος γὰρ γίνεται ξηρὸς καὶ σκληρός, καὶ λείπεται
τὸ γεῶδες ἐξατμισθέντος τοῦ ὕδατος ὑπὸ τῆς θερμότητος,
ὥσπερ τὰ τῶν χεδρόπων ἑψήματα καὶ τῶν ἄλλων
25 καρπῶν, διὰ τὸ γῆς εἶναι τὸ πλεῖστον μέρος, ἐξιόντος τοῦ
μιχθέντος ὑγροῦ· καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα γίνεται σκληρὰ καὶ γεηρὰ
πάμπαν. Ἔχει δὲ τῶν ζῴων ἐγκέφαλον πλεῖστον ἄνθρωπος
ὡς κατὰ μέγεθος, καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ ἄρρενες τῶν θηλειῶν·
καὶ γὰρ τὸν περὶ τὴν καρδίαν καὶ τὸν πλεύμονα τόπον
30 θερμότατον καὶ ἐναιμότατον. Διὸ καὶ μόνον ἐστὶ τῶν
ζῴων ὀρθόν· ἡ γὰρ τοῦ θερμοῦ φύσις ἐνισχύουσα ποιεῖ τὴν
αὔξησιν ἀπὸ τοῦ μέσου κατὰ τὴν αὑτῆς φοράν. Πρὸς οὖν πολλὴν
θερμότητα ἀντίκειται πλείων ὑγρότης καὶ ψυχρότης, καὶ
διὰ τὸ πλῆθος ὀψιαίτατα πήγυνται τὸ περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν
35 ὀστοῦν, ὃ καλοῦσι βρέγμα τινές, διὰ τὸ πολὺν χρόνον τὸ θερμὸν
ἀπατμίζειν· τῶν δ' ἄλλων οὐδενὶ τοῦτο συμβαίνει τῶν
ἐναίμων ζῴων. Καὶ ῥαφὰς δὲ πλείστας ἔχει περὶ τὴν κεφαλήν,
1For when the nutriment steams upwards through the blood-vessels, its refuse portion is chilled by the influence of this region, and forms defluxions of phlegm and serum. We must suppose, to compare small things with great, that the like happens here as occurs in the production of showers. For when vapour steams up 5from the earth and is carried by the heat into the upper regions, so soon as it reaches the cold air that is above the earth, it condenses again into water owing to the refrigeration, and falls back to the earth as rain. These, however, are matters which may be suitably considered in the Principles of Diseases, so far as natural philosophy has anything to say to them.
It is the brain 10again-or, in animals that have no brain, the part analogous to it-which is the cause of sleep. For either by chilling the blood that streams upwards after food, or by some other similar influences, it produces heaviness in the region in which it lies (which is the reason why drowsy persons hang the head), and causes the heat to escape downwards in company with the blood. It is the accumulation of 15this in excess in the lower region that produces complete sleep, taking away the power of standing upright from those animals to whom that posture is natural, and from the rest the power of holding up the head. These, however, are matters which have been separately considered in the treatises on Sensation and on Sleep.
That the brain is a compound of earth and water is shown by what occurs 20when it is boiled. For, when so treated, it turns hard and solid, inasmuch as the water is evaporated by the heat, and leaves the earthy part behind. Just the same occurs when pulse and other fruits are boiled. For these also are hardened by the process, because the water which enters into their composition is driven off and leaves the earth, which is their main constituent, behind.
Of all 25animals, man has the largest brain in proportion to his size; and it is larger in men than in women. This is because the region of the heart and of the lung is hotter and richer in blood in man than in any other animal; and in men than in women. This again explains why man, alone of animals, stands erect. For the heat, overcoming any opposite inclination, makes growth take its own line of 30direction, which is from the centre of the body upwards. It is then as a counterpoise to his excessive heat that in man's brain there is this superabundant fluidity and coldness; and it is again owing to this superabundance that the cranial bone, which some call the Bregma, is the last to become solidified; so long does evaporation continue to occur through it under the influence of heat. Man 35is the only sanguineous animal in which this takes place. Man, again, has more sutures in his skull than any other animal, and the male more than the female.
It is the brain 10again-or, in animals that have no brain, the part analogous to it-which is the cause of sleep. For either by chilling the blood that streams upwards after food, or by some other similar influences, it produces heaviness in the region in which it lies (which is the reason why drowsy persons hang the head), and causes the heat to escape downwards in company with the blood. It is the accumulation of 15this in excess in the lower region that produces complete sleep, taking away the power of standing upright from those animals to whom that posture is natural, and from the rest the power of holding up the head. These, however, are matters which have been separately considered in the treatises on Sensation and on Sleep.
That the brain is a compound of earth and water is shown by what occurs 20when it is boiled. For, when so treated, it turns hard and solid, inasmuch as the water is evaporated by the heat, and leaves the earthy part behind. Just the same occurs when pulse and other fruits are boiled. For these also are hardened by the process, because the water which enters into their composition is driven off and leaves the earth, which is their main constituent, behind.
Of all 25animals, man has the largest brain in proportion to his size; and it is larger in men than in women. This is because the region of the heart and of the lung is hotter and richer in blood in man than in any other animal; and in men than in women. This again explains why man, alone of animals, stands erect. For the heat, overcoming any opposite inclination, makes growth take its own line of 30direction, which is from the centre of the body upwards. It is then as a counterpoise to his excessive heat that in man's brain there is this superabundant fluidity and coldness; and it is again owing to this superabundance that the cranial bone, which some call the Bregma, is the last to become solidified; so long does evaporation continue to occur through it under the influence of heat. Man 35is the only sanguineous animal in which this takes place. Man, again, has more sutures in his skull than any other animal, and the male more than the female.
653b
1 καὶ τὸ ἄρρεν πλείους τῶν θηλειῶν, διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν
αἰτίαν, ὅπως ὁ τόπος εὔπνους ᾖ, καὶ μᾶλλον ὁ πλείων ἐγκέφαλος·
ὑγραινόμενος γὰρ ἢ ξηραινόμενος μᾶλλον οὐ ποιήσει
τὸ αὑτοῦ ἔργον, ἀλλ' ἢ οὐ ψύξει ἢ πήξει, ὥστε νόσους καὶ
5 παρανοίας ποιεῖν καὶ θανάτους· τὸ γὰρ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ θερμὸν
καὶ ἡ ἀρχὴ συμπαθέστατόν ἐστι καὶ ταχεῖαν ποιεῖται
τὴν αἴσθησιν μεταβάλλοντός τι καὶ πάσχοντος τοῦ περὶ τὸν
ἐγκέφαλον αἵματος.
Περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν συμφύτων τοῖς ζῴοις ὑγρῶν σχεδὸν
10 εἴρηται περὶ πάντων· τῶν δ' ὑστερογενῶν τά τε περιττώματα
τῆς τροφῆς ἐστι, τό τε τῆς κύστεως ὑπόστημα καὶ τὸ τῆς
κοιλίας, καὶ παρὰ ταῦτα γονὴ καὶ γάλα τοῖς πεφυκόσιν
ἔχειν ἕκαστα τούτων. Τὰ μὲν οὖν τῆς τροφῆς περιττώματα
περὶ τὴν τῆς τροφῆς σκέψιν καὶ θεωρίαν οἰκείους ἔχει τοὺς
15 λόγους, τίσι τε τῶν ζῴων ὑπάρχει καὶ διὰ τίνας αἰτίας,
τὰ δὲ περὶ σπέρματος καὶ γάλακτος ἐν τοῖς περὶ γενέσεως·
τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀρχὴ γενέσεως αὐτῶν ἐστι, τὸ δὲ χάριν
γενέσεως.
1The explanation is again to be found in the greater size of the brain, which demands free ventilation, proportionate to its bulk. For if the brain be either too fluid or too solid, it will not perform its office, but in the one case will freeze the blood, and in the other will not cool it at all; and thus will cause disease, madness, and death. For the cardiac 5heat and the centre of life is most delicate in its sympathies, and is immediately sensitive to the slightest change or affection of the blood on the outer surface of the brain.
The fluids which are present in the animal body at the time of birth have now nearly all been considered. Amongst those that appear only at a later period are the residua of the food, which include the deposits of the belly and also those of the bladder. Besides these there 10is the semen and the milk, one or the other of which makes its appearance in appropriate animals. Of these fluids the excremental residua of the food may be suitably discussed by themselves, when we come to examine and consider the subject of nutrition. Then will be the time to explain in what animals they are found, and what are the reasons for their presence. Similarly all questions concerning the semen and the milk may be dealt with in the treatise 15on Generation, for the former of these fluids is the very starting-point of the generative process, and the latter has no other ground of existence than generative purposes.
The fluids which are present in the animal body at the time of birth have now nearly all been considered. Amongst those that appear only at a later period are the residua of the food, which include the deposits of the belly and also those of the bladder. Besides these there 10is the semen and the milk, one or the other of which makes its appearance in appropriate animals. Of these fluids the excremental residua of the food may be suitably discussed by themselves, when we come to examine and consider the subject of nutrition. Then will be the time to explain in what animals they are found, and what are the reasons for their presence. Similarly all questions concerning the semen and the milk may be dealt with in the treatise 15on Generation, for the former of these fluids is the very starting-point of the generative process, and the latter has no other ground of existence than generative purposes.
Book 2,Chapter 8 (653b19–654a31)
Περὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων μορίων τῶν ὁμοιομερῶν σκεπτέον,
20 καὶ πρῶτον περὶ σαρκὸς ἐν τοῖς ἔχουσι σάρκας, ἐν δὲ τοῖς
ἄλλοις τὸ ἀνάλογον· τοῦτο γὰρ ἀρχὴ καὶ σῶμα καθ' αὑτὸ
τῶν ζῴων ἐστίν. Δῆλον δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸν λόγον· τὸ γὰρ ζῷον
ὁριζόμεθα τῷ ἔχειν αἴσθησιν, πρῶτον δὲ τὴν πρώτην· αὕτη
δ' ἐστὶν ἁφή, ταύτης δ' αἰσθητήριον τὸ τοιοῦτον μόριόν ἐστιν,
25 ἤτοι τὸ πρῶτον, ὥσπερ ἡ κόρη τῆς ὄψεως, ἢ τὸ δι' οὗ συνειλημμένον,
ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις προσλάβοι τῇ κόρῃ τὸ διαφανὲς
πᾶν. Ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἄλλων αἰσθήσεων ἀδύνατόν τε
καὶ οὐδὲν προὔργου τοῦτ' ἦν ποιῆσαι τῇ φύσει, τὸ δ' ἁπτικὸν
ἐξ ἀνάγκης· μόνον γὰρ ἢ μάλιστα τοῦτ' ἔστι σωματῶδες τῶν
30 αἰσθητηρίων. Κατὰ δὲ τὴν αἴσθησιν φανερὸν πάντα τἆλλα
τούτου χάριν ὄντα, λέγω δ' οἷον ὀστᾶ καὶ δέρμα καὶ νεῦρα
καὶ φλέβες, ἔτι δὲ τρίχες καὶ τὸ τῶν ὀνύχων γένος, καὶ
εἴ τι τοιοῦτον ἕτερόν ἐστιν. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ὀστῶν φύσις σωτηρίας
ἕνεκεν μεμηχάνηται μαλακοῦ, σκληρὰ τὴν φύσιν οὖσα,
35 ἐν τοῖς ἔχουσιν ὀστᾶ· ἐν δὲ τοῖς μὴ ἔχουσι τὸ ἀνάλογον, οἷον
ἐν τοῖς ἰχθύσι τοῖς μὲν ἄκανθα τοῖς δὲ χόνδρος. Τὰ μὲν οὖν
ἔχει τῶν ζῴων ἐντὸς τὴν τοιαύτην βοήθειαν, ἔνια δὲ τῶν
We have now to consider the remaining homogeneous parts, and will begin with flesh, and with the substance that, in animals that have no flesh, takes its place. The reason for so beginning is that flesh forms the very basis of animals, and is the essential constituent of their 20body. Its right to this precedence can also be demonstrated logically. For an animal is by our definition something that has sensibility and chief of all the primary sensibility, which is that of Touch; and it is the flesh, or analogous substance, which is the organ of this sense. And it is the organ, either in the same way as the pupil is the organ of sight, that is it constitutes the primary organ of the sense; or it is the organ and the medium 25through which the object acts combined, that is it answers to the pupil with the whole transparent medium attached to it. Now in the case of the other senses it was impossible for nature to unite the medium with the sense-organ, nor would such a junction have served any purpose; but in the case of touch she was compelled by necessity to do so. For of all the sense-organs that of touch is the only one that has corporeal substance, or at any rate it is 30more corporeal than any other, and its medium must be corporeal like itself.
It is obvious also to sense that it is for the sake of the flesh that all the other parts exist. By the other parts I mean the bones, the skin, the sinews, and the blood-vessels, and, again, the hair and the various kinds of nails, and anything else there may be of a like character. Thus the bones are a contrivance to give security to the soft parts, to which purpose they 35are adapted by their hardness; and in animals that have no bones the same office is fulfilled by some analogous substance, as by fishspine in some fishes, and by cartilage in others.
It is obvious also to sense that it is for the sake of the flesh that all the other parts exist. By the other parts I mean the bones, the skin, the sinews, and the blood-vessels, and, again, the hair and the various kinds of nails, and anything else there may be of a like character. Thus the bones are a contrivance to give security to the soft parts, to which purpose they 35are adapted by their hardness; and in animals that have no bones the same office is fulfilled by some analogous substance, as by fishspine in some fishes, and by cartilage in others.
654a
1 ἀναίμων ἐκτὸς, ὥσπερ τῶν τε μαλακοστράκων ἕκαστον,
οἷον καρκίνοι καὶ τὸ τῶν καράβων γένος, καὶ τὸ τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων
ὡσαύτως, οἷον τὰ καλούμενα ὄστρεα· πᾶσι γὰρ τούτοις
τὸ μὲν σαρκῶδες ἐντός, τὸ δὲ συνέχον καὶ φυλάττον
5 ἐκτὸς τὸ γεῶδές ἐστιν· πρὸς γὰρ τῇ φυλακῇ τῆς συνεχείας,
τῷ ἔχειν ὀλίγον αὐτῶν τὴν φύσιν θερμὸν ἀναίμων ὄντων,
οἷον πνιγεύς τις περικείμενον τὸ ὄστρακον φυλάττει τὸ ἐμπεπυρευμένον
θερμόν. Ἡ δὲ χελώνη καὶ τὸ τῶν ἑμύδων γένος
ὁμοίως ἔχειν δοκεῖ τούτοις, ἕτερον ὂν γένος τούτων. Τὰ δ'
10 ἔντομα τῶν ζῴων καὶ τὰ μαλάκια τούτοις τ' ἐναντίως καὶ
αὑτοῖς ἀντικειμένως συνέστηκεν· οὐδὲν γὰρ ὀστῶδες ἔχειν ἔοικεν
οὐδὲ γεηρὸν ἀποκεκριμένον, ὅ τι καὶ ἄξιον εἰπεῖν, ἀλλὰ
τὰ μὲν μαλάκια σχεδὸν ὅλα σαρκώδη καὶ μαλακά, πρὸς
δὲ τὸ μὴ εὔφθαρτον εἶναι τὸ σῶμα αὐτῶν, καθάπερ τὰ
15 σαρκώδη, μεταξὺ σαρκὸς καὶ νεύρου τὴν φύσιν ἔχει. Μαλακὸν
μὲν γὰρ ὥσπερ σάρξ ἐστιν, ἔχει δὲ τάσιν ὥσπερ νεῦρον·
τὴν δὲ σχίσιν ἔχει τῆς σαρκὸς οὐ κατ' εὐθυωρίαν ἀλλὰ
κατὰ κύκλους διαιρετήν· οὕτως γὰρ ἂν ἔχον χρησιμώτατον
ἂν εἴη πρὸς τὴν ἰσχύν. Ὑπάρχει δ' ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὸ ἀνάλογον
20 ταῖς τῶν ἰχθύων ἀκάνθαις, οἷον ἐν μὲν ταῖς σηπίαις
τὸ καλούμενον σηπίον, ἐν δὲ ταῖς τευθίσι τὸ καλούμενον ξίφος.
Τὰ δ' αὖ τῶν πολυπόδων τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν ἔχει διὰ τὸ μικρὸν
ἔχειν τὸ κύτος τὴν καλουμένην κεφαλήν, θάτερα δ' εὐμήκη.
Διὸ πρὸς τὴν ὀρθότητα αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν ἀκαμψίαν ὑπέγραψε
25 ταῦτα ἡ φύσις, ὥσπερ τῶν ἐναίμων τοῖς μὲν ὀστοῦν
τοῖς δ' ἄκανθαν. Τὰ δ' ἔντομα τούτοις τ' ἐναντίως ἔχει καὶ
τοῖς ἐναίμοις, καθάπερ εἴπομεν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀφωρισμένον ἔχει
σκληρόν, τὸ δὲ μαλακόν, ἀλλ' ὅλον τὸ σῶμα σκληρόν,
σκληρότητα δὲ τοιαύτην, ὀστοῦ μὲν σαρκωδεστέραν, σαρκὸς δ'
30 ὀστωδεστέραν καὶ γεωδεστέραν, πρὸς τὸ μὴ εὐδιαίρετον εἶναι
τὸ σῶμα αὐτῶν.
1Now in some animals this supporting substance is situated within the body, while in some of the bloodless species it is placed on the outside. The latter is the case in all the Crustacea, as the Carcini (Crabs) and the Carabi (Prickly Lobsters); it is the case also in the Testacea, as for instance in the several species known by the general name of oysters. For in all these animals the fleshy substance 5is within, and the earthy matter, which holds the soft parts together and keeps them from injury, is on the outside. For the shell not only enables the soft parts to hold together, but also, as the animal is bloodless and so has but little natural warmth, surrounds it, as a chaufferette does the embers, and keeps in the smouldering heat. Similar to this seems to be the arrangement in another and distinct tribe of animals, namely the Tortoises, including the Chelone and the several kinds of Emys. 10But in Insects and in Cephalopods the plan is entirely different, there being moreover a contrast between these two themselves. For in neither of these does there appear to be any bony or earthy part, worthy of notice, distinctly separated from the rest of the body. Thus in the Cephalopods the main bulk of the body consists of a soft flesh-like substance, or rather of a substance which is intermediate to flesh and sinew, so as not to be so readily destructible as actual flesh. I call this substance 15intermediate to flesh and sinew, because it is soft like the former, while it admits of stretching like the latter. Its cleavage, however, is such that it splits not longitudinally, like sinew, but into circular segments, this being the most advantageous condition, so far as strength is concerned. These animals have also a part inside them corresponding to the spinous bones of fishes. For instance, in the Cuttle-fishes there is what is known as the os sepiae, and in the Calamaries there is the 20so-called gladius. In the Poulps, on the other hand, there is no such internal part, because the body, or, as it is termed in them, the head, forms but a short sac, whereas it is of considerable length in the other two; and it was this length which led nature to assign to them their hard support, so as to ensure their straightness and inflexibility; just as she has assigned to sanguineous animals their bones or their fish-spines, as the case may be. To come now to Insects. In these the arrangement 25is quite different from that of the Cephalopods; quite different also from that which obtains in sanguineous animals, as indeed has been already stated. For in an insect there is no distinction into soft and hard parts, but the whole body is hard, the hardness, however, being of such a character as to be more flesh-like than bone, and more earthy and bone-like than flesh. The purpose of this is to make the body of the insect less liable to get broken into pieces.
Book 2,Chapter 9 (654a32–655b27)
Ἔχει δ' ὁμοίως ἥ τε τῶν ὀστῶν καὶ ἡ τῶν φλεβῶν φύσις.
Ἑκατέρα γὰρ αὐτῶν ἀφ' ἑνὸς ἠργμένη συνεχής ἐστι, καὶ
οὔτε ὀστοῦν ἐστιν καθ' αὑτὸ οὐδέν, ἀλλ' ἢ μόριον ὡς συνεχοῦς
35 ἢ ἁπτόμενον καὶ προσδεδεμένον, ἵνα χρῆται ἡ φύσις
There is a resemblance between the 30osseous and the vascular systems; for each has a central part in which it begins, and each forms a continuous whole. For no bone in the body exists as a separate thing in itself, but each is either a portion of what may be considered a continuous whole, or at any rate is linked with the rest by contact and by attachments; so that nature may use adjoining bones either as though they were actually continuous and formed a single bone, or, for purposes of flexure, as though they were two and distinct.
654b
1 καὶ ὡς ἐνὶ καὶ συνεχεῖ καὶ ὡς δυσὶ καὶ διῃρημένοις πρὸς
τὴν κάμψιν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ φλὲψ οὐδεμία αὐτὴ καθ' αὑτήν
ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαι μόριον μιᾶς εἰσιν. Ὀστοῦν τε γὰρ εἴ τι κεχωρισμένον
ἦν, τό τ' ἔργον οὐκ ἂν ἐποίει οὗ χάριν ἡ τῶν ὀστῶν
5 ἐστι φύσις (οὔτε γὰρ ἂν κάμψεως ἦν αἴτιον οὔτ' ὀρθότητος
οὐδεμιᾶς μὴ συνεχὲς ὂν ἀλλὰ διαλεῖπον), ἔτι τ' ἔβλαπτεν
ἂν ὥσπερ ἄκανθά τις ἢ βέλος ἐνὸν ταῖς σαρξίν. Εἴτε φλὲψ
ἦν τις κεχωρισμένη καὶ μὴ συνεχὴς πρὸς τὴν ἀρχήν, οὐκ
ἂν ἔσωζε τὸ ἐν αὑτῇ αἷμα· ἡ γὰρ ἀπ' ἐκείνης θερμότης
10 κωλύει πήγνυσθαι, φαίνεται δὲ καὶ σηπόμενον τὸ χωριζόμενον.
Ἀρχὴ δὲ τῶν μὲν φλεβῶν ἡ καρδία, τῶν δ' ὀστῶν ἡ
καλουμένη ῥάχις τοῖς ἔχουσιν ὀστᾶ πᾶσιν, ἀφ' ἧς συνεχὴς ἡ
τῶν ἄλλων ὀστῶν ἐστι φύσις. Ἡ γὰρ τὸ μῆκος καὶ τὴν ὀρθότητα
συνέχουσα τῶν ζῴων ἡ ῥάχις ἐστίν. Ἐπεὶ δ' ἀνάγκη κινουμένου
15 τοῦ ζῴου κάμπτεσθαι τὸ σῶμα, μία μὲν διὰ τὴν συνέχειάν
ἐστι, πολυμερὴς δὲ τῇ διαιρέσει τῶν σπονδύλων. Ἐκ δὲ ταύτης
τοῖς ἔχουσι κῶλα συνεχῆ πρὸς αὐτήν, τὰ τούτων ὀστᾶ
τῶν ἁρμονιῶν ἐστιν, ᾗ μὲν ἔχει τὰ κῶλα κάμψιν, συνδεδεμένα
τε νεύροις, καὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων συναρμοττόντων τοῦ μὲν
20 ὄντος κοίλου τοῦ δὲ περιφεροῦς, ἢ καὶ ἀμφοτέρων κοίλων, ἐν
μέσῳ δὲ περιειληφότων, οἷον γόμφον, ἀστράγαλον, ἵνα γίγνηται
κάμψις καὶ ἔκτασις· ἄλλως γὰρ ἢ ὅλως ἀδύνατον,
ἢ οὐ καλῶς ἂν ἐποίουν τὴν τοιαύτην κίνησιν. Ἔνια δ'
αὐτῶν ὁμοίαν ἔχοντα τὴν ἀρχὴν τὴν θατέρου τῇ τελευτῇ
25 θατέρου, συνδέδεται νεύροις. Καὶ χονδρώδη δὲ μόρια μεταξὺ
τῶν κάμψεών εἰσιν, οἷον στοιβή, πρὸς τὸ ἄλληλα μὴ τρίβειν.
Περὶ δὲ τὰ ὀστᾶ αἱ σάρκες περιπεφύκασι, προσειλημμέναι
λεπτοῖς καὶ ἰνώδεσι δεσμοῖς, ὧν ἕνεκεν τὸ τῶν
ὀστῶν ἐστι γένος. Ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ πλάττοντες ἐκ πηλοῦ ζῷον
30 ἤ τινος ἄλλης ὑγρᾶς συστάσεως ὑφιστᾶσι τῶν στερεῶν τι
σωμάτων, εἶθ' οὕτω περιπλάττουσι, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ἡ φύσις
δεδημιούργηκεν ἐκ τῶν σαρκῶν τὸ ζῷον. Τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἄλλοις
ὕπεστιν ὀστᾶ τοῖς σαρκώδεσι μορίοις, τοῖς μὲν κινουμένοις
διὰ κάμψιν τούτου χάριν, τοῖς δ' ἀκινήτοις φυλακῆς
35 ἕνεκεν, οἷον αἱ συγκλείουσαι πλευραὶ τὸ στῆθος σωτηρίας
1And similarly no blood-vessel has in itself a separate individuality; but they all form parts of one whole. For an isolated bone, if such there were, would in the first place be unable to perform the office for the sake of which bones exist; for, were it discontinuous and separated from the rest by a gap, it would be perfectly 5unable to produce either flexure or extension; nor only so, but it would actually be injurious, acting like a thorn or an arrow lodged in the flesh. Similarly if a vessel were isolated, and not continuous with the vascular centre, it would be unable to retain the blood within it in a proper state. For it is the warmth derived from this centre that hinders the blood from coagulating; indeed the blood, when withdrawn 10from its influence, becomes manifestly putrid. Now the centre or origin of the blood-vessels is the heart, and the centre or origin of the bones, in all animals that have bones, is what is called the chine. With this all the other bones of the body are in continuity; for it is the chine that holds together the whole length of an animal and preserves its straightness. But since it is necessary that the body of 15an animal shall bend during locomotion, this chine, while it is one in virtue of the continuity of its parts, yet its division into vertebrae is made to consist of many segments. It is from this chine that the bones of the limbs, in such animals as have these parts, proceed, and with it they are continuous, being fastened together by the sinews where the limbs admit of flexure, and having their extremities 20adapted to each other, either by the one being hollowed and the other rounded, or by both being hollowed and including between them a hucklebone, as a connecting bolt, so as to allow of flexure and extension. For without some such arrangement these movements would be utterly impossible, or at any rate would be performed with great difficulty. There are some joints, again, in which the lower end of the one bone and 25the upper end of the other are alike in shape. In these cases the bones are bound together by sinews, and cartilaginous pieces are interposed in the joint, to serve as a kind of padding, and prevent the two extremities from grating against each other.
Round about the bones, and attached to them by thin fibrous bands, grow the fleshy parts, for the sake of which the bones themselves exist. For just as an artist, 30when he is moulding an animal out of clay or other soft substance, takes first some solid body as a basis, and round this moulds the clay, so also has nature acted in fashioning the animal body out of flesh. Thus we find all the fleshy parts, with one exception, supported by bones, which serve, when the parts are organs of motion, to facilitate flexure, and, when the parts are motionless, act as a protection.
Round about the bones, and attached to them by thin fibrous bands, grow the fleshy parts, for the sake of which the bones themselves exist. For just as an artist, 30when he is moulding an animal out of clay or other soft substance, takes first some solid body as a basis, and round this moulds the clay, so also has nature acted in fashioning the animal body out of flesh. Thus we find all the fleshy parts, with one exception, supported by bones, which serve, when the parts are organs of motion, to facilitate flexure, and, when the parts are motionless, act as a protection.
655a
1 χάριν τῶν περὶ τὴν καρδίαν σπλάγχνων· τὰ δὲ περὶ τὴν
κοιλίαν ἀνόστεα πᾶσιν, ὅπως μὴ κωλύῃ τὴν ἀνοίδησιν τὴν
ἀπὸ τῆς τροφῆς γινομένην τοῖς ζῴοις ἐξ ἀνάγκης καὶ τοῖς
θήλεσι τὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς τῶν ἐμβρύων αὔξησιν. Τὰ μὲν οὖν
5 ζῳοτόκα τῶν ζῴων καὶ ἐν αὑτοῖς καὶ ἐκτὸς παραπλησίαν
ἔχει τὴν τῶν ὀστῶν δύναμιν καὶ ἰσχυράν. Πολὺ γὰρ μείζω
πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν μὴ ζῳοτόκων ὡς κατὰ λόγον εἰπεῖν
τῶν σωμάτων· ἐνιαχοῦ γὰρ πολλὰ γίνεται μεγάλα τῶν
ζῳοτόκων, οἷον ἐν Λιβύῃ καὶ τοῖς τόποις τοῖς θερμοῖς καὶ
10 τοῖς ξηροῖς. Τοῖς δὲ μεγάλοις ἰσχυροτέρων δεῖ τῶν ὑπερεισμάτων
καὶ μειζόνων καὶ σκληροτέρων, καὶ τούτων αὐτῶν
τοῖς βιαστικωτέροις. Διὸ τὰ τῶν ἀρρένων σκληρότερα ἢ τὰ
τῶν θηλειῶν, καὶ τὰ τῶν σαρκοφάγων (ἡ τροφὴ γὰρ διὰ
μάχης τούτοις), ὥσπερ τὰ τοῦ λέοντος· οὕτω γὰρ ἔχει ταῦτα
15 σκληρὰν τὴν φύσιν ὥστ' ἐξάπτεσθαι τυπτομένων καθάπερ
ἐκ λίθων πῦρ. Ἔχει δὲ καὶ ὁ δελφὶς οὐκ ἀκάνθας ἀλλ' ὀστᾶ·
ζῳοτόκος γάρ ἐστιν. Τοῖς δ' ἐναίμοις μὲν μὴ ζῳοτόκοις δὲ
παραλλάττει κατὰ μικρὸν ἡ φύσις, οἷον τοῖς ὄρνισιν ὀστᾶ
μέν, ἀσθενέστερα δέ. Τῶν δ' ἰχθύων τοῖς μὲν ᾠοτόκοις ἄκανθα,
20 καὶ τοῖς ὄφεσιν ἀκανθώδης ἐστὶν ἡ τῶν ὀστῶν φύσις,
πλὴν τοῖς λίαν μεγάλοις· τούτοις δέ, δι' ἅπερ καὶ τοῖς ζῳοτόκοις,
πρὸς τὴν ἰσχὺν ἰσχυροτέρων δεῖ τῶν στερεωμάτων.
Τὰ δὲ καλούμενα σελάχη χονδράκανθα τὴν φύσιν ἐστίν·
ὑγροτέραν τε γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον αὐτῶν εἶναι τὴν κίνησιν, ὥστε
25 δεῖ καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐρεισμάτων μὴ κραῦρον εἶναι ἀλλὰ μαλακωτέραν,
καὶ τὸ γεῶδες εἰς τὸ δέρμα πᾶν ἀνήλωκεν ἡ φύσις·
ἅμα δὲ τὴν αὐτὴν ὑπεροχὴν εἰς πολλοὺς τόπους ἀδυνατεῖ
διανέμειν ἡ φύσις. Ἔνεστι δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ζῳοτόκοις πολλὰ
τῶν ὀστῶν χονδρώδη, ἐν ὅσοις συμφέρει μαλακὸν εἶναι καὶ
30 μυξῶδες τὸ στερεὸν διὰ τὴν σάρκα τὴν περικειμένην, οἷον
συμβέβηκε περί τε τὰ ὦτα καὶ τοὺς μυκτῆρας· θραύεται
γὰρ τὰ κραῦρα ταχέως ἐν τοῖς ἀπέχουσιν. Ἡ δὲ φύσις ἡ
αὐτὴ χόνδρου καὶ ὀστοῦ ἐστι, διαφέρει δὲ τῷ μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον·
διὸ καὶ οὐδέτερον αὐξάνεται ἀποκοπέν. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἐν τοῖς
35 πεζοῖς ἀμύελοι χόνδροι κεχωρισμένῳ μυελῷ· τὸ γὰρ χωριζόμενον
εἰς ἅπαν μεμιγμένον μαλακὴν ποιεῖ καὶ ζυμώδη
τὴν τοῦ χόνδρου σύστασιν. Ἐν δὲ τοῖς σελάχεσιν ἡ ῥάχις χονδρώδης
1The ribs, for example, which enclose the chest are intended to ensure the safety of the heart and neighbouring viscera. The exception of which mention was made is the belly. The walls of this are in all animals devoid of bones; in order that there may be no hindrance to the expansion which necessarily occurs in this part after a meal, nor, in females, any interference 5with the growth of the foetus, which is lodged here.
Now the bones of viviparous animals, of such, that is, as are not merely externally but also internally viviparous, vary but very little from each other in point of strength, which in all of them is considerable. For the Vivipara in their bodily proportions are far above other animals, and many of them occasionally grow to an enormous size, as is the case in Libya and in hot and dry countries generally. 10But the greater the bulk of an animal, the stronger, the bigger, and the harder, are the supports which it requires; and comparing the big animals with each other, this requirement will be most marked in those that live a life of rapine. Thus it is that the bones of males are harder than those of females; and the bones of flesh-eaters, that get their food by fighting, are harder than those of Herbivora. Of this the Lion is an example; for so hard are its 15bones, that, when struck, they give off sparks, as though they were stones. It may be mentioned also that the Dolphin, in as much as it is viviparous, is provided with bones and not with fish-spines.
In those sanguineous animals, on the other hand, that are oviparous, the bones present successive slight variations of character. Thus in Birds there are bones, but these are not so strong as the bones of the Vivipara. Then come the Oviparous fishes, where there 20is no bone, but merely fish-spine. In the Serpents too the bones have the character of fish-spine, excepting in the very large species, where the solid foundation of the body requires to be stronger, in order that the animal itself may be strong, the same reason prevailing as in the case of the Vivipara. Lastly, in the Selachia, as they are called, the fish-spines are replaced by cartilage. For it is necessary that the movements of these animals shall be 25of an undulating character; and this again requires the framework that supports the body to be made of a pliable and not of a brittle substance. Moreover, in these Selachia nature has used all the earthy matter on the skin; and she is unable to allot to many different parts one and the same superfluity of material. Even in viviparous animals many of the bones are cartilaginous. This happens in those parts where it is to the advantage of the surrounding flesh 30that its solid base shall be soft and mucilaginous. Such, for instance, is the case with the ears and nostrils; for in projecting parts, such as these, brittle substances would soon get broken. Cartilage and bone are indeed fundamentally the same thing, the differences between them being merely matters of degree. Thus neither cartilage nor bone, when once cut off, grows again. Now the cartilages of these land animals are without marrow, that is without any 35distinctly separate marrow. For the marrow, which in bones is distinctly separate, is here mixed up with the whole mass, and gives a soft and mucilaginous consistence to the cartilage.
Now the bones of viviparous animals, of such, that is, as are not merely externally but also internally viviparous, vary but very little from each other in point of strength, which in all of them is considerable. For the Vivipara in their bodily proportions are far above other animals, and many of them occasionally grow to an enormous size, as is the case in Libya and in hot and dry countries generally. 10But the greater the bulk of an animal, the stronger, the bigger, and the harder, are the supports which it requires; and comparing the big animals with each other, this requirement will be most marked in those that live a life of rapine. Thus it is that the bones of males are harder than those of females; and the bones of flesh-eaters, that get their food by fighting, are harder than those of Herbivora. Of this the Lion is an example; for so hard are its 15bones, that, when struck, they give off sparks, as though they were stones. It may be mentioned also that the Dolphin, in as much as it is viviparous, is provided with bones and not with fish-spines.
In those sanguineous animals, on the other hand, that are oviparous, the bones present successive slight variations of character. Thus in Birds there are bones, but these are not so strong as the bones of the Vivipara. Then come the Oviparous fishes, where there 20is no bone, but merely fish-spine. In the Serpents too the bones have the character of fish-spine, excepting in the very large species, where the solid foundation of the body requires to be stronger, in order that the animal itself may be strong, the same reason prevailing as in the case of the Vivipara. Lastly, in the Selachia, as they are called, the fish-spines are replaced by cartilage. For it is necessary that the movements of these animals shall be 25of an undulating character; and this again requires the framework that supports the body to be made of a pliable and not of a brittle substance. Moreover, in these Selachia nature has used all the earthy matter on the skin; and she is unable to allot to many different parts one and the same superfluity of material. Even in viviparous animals many of the bones are cartilaginous. This happens in those parts where it is to the advantage of the surrounding flesh 30that its solid base shall be soft and mucilaginous. Such, for instance, is the case with the ears and nostrils; for in projecting parts, such as these, brittle substances would soon get broken. Cartilage and bone are indeed fundamentally the same thing, the differences between them being merely matters of degree. Thus neither cartilage nor bone, when once cut off, grows again. Now the cartilages of these land animals are without marrow, that is without any 35distinctly separate marrow. For the marrow, which in bones is distinctly separate, is here mixed up with the whole mass, and gives a soft and mucilaginous consistence to the cartilage.
655b
1 μέν ἐστιν, ἔχει δὲ μυελόν· ἀντ' ὀστοῦ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὑπάρχει
τοῦτο τὸ μόριον. Σύνεγγυς δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἁφήν ἐστι τοῖς
ὀστοῖς καὶ τὰ τοιάδε τῶν μορίων οἷον ὄνυχές τε καὶ ὁπλαὶ
καὶ χηλαὶ καὶ κέρατα καὶ ῥύγχη τὰ τῶν ὀρνίθων. Πάντα
5 δὲ ταῦτα βοηθείας ἔχουσι χάριν τὰ ζῷα· τὰ γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῶν
συνεστηκότα ὅλα καὶ συνώνυμα τοῖς μορίοις, οἷον ὁπλή
τε ὅλη καὶ κέρας ὅλον, μεμηχάνηται πρὸς τὴν σωτηρίαν
ἑκάστοις. Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ τῷ γένει καὶ ἡ τῶν ὀδόντων ἐστὶ φύσις,
τοῖς μὲν ὑπάρχουσα πρὸς ἓν ἔργον τὴν τῆς τροφῆς ἐργασίαν,
10 τοῖς δὲ πρός τε τοῦτο καὶ πρὸς ἀλκήν, οἷον τοῖς καρχαρόδουσι
καὶ χαυλιόδουσι πᾶσιν. Ἐξ ἀνάγκης δὲ πάντα ταῦτα
γεώδη καὶ στερεὰν ἔχει τὴν φύσιν· ὅπλου γὰρ αὕτη δύναμις.
Διὸ καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς τετράποσιν
ὑπάρχει ζῴοις τῶν ζῳοτόκων, διὰ τὸ γεωδεστέραν ἔχειν
15 πάντα τὴν σύστασιν ἢ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος. Ἀλλὰ καὶ
περὶ τούτων καὶ τῶν ἐχομένων, οἷον δέρματος καὶ κύστεως
καὶ ὑμένος καὶ τριχῶν καὶ πτερῶν καὶ τῶν ἀνάλογον τούτοις
καὶ εἴ τι τοιοῦτόν ἐστι μέρος, ὕστερον ἅμα τοῖς ἀνομοιομερέσι
θεωρητέον τὴν αἰτίαν αὐτῶν, καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν ὑπάρχει τοῖς
20 ζῴοις ἕκαστον· ἐκ τῶν ἔργων γὰρ γνωρίζειν, ὥσπερ κἀκεῖνα,
καὶ ταῦτα ἀναγκαῖον ἂν εἴη. Ἀλλ' ὅτι συνώνυμα τοῖς ὅλοις
τὰ μέρη, τὴν τάξιν ἀπέλαβεν ἐν τοῖς ὁμοιομερέσι νῦν, Εἰσὶ
δ' ἀρχαὶ πάντων τούτων τό τε ὀστοῦν καὶ ἡ σάρξ. Ἔτι δὲ
περὶ γονῆς καὶ γάλακτος ἀπελίπομεν ἐν τῇ περὶ τῶν ὑγρῶν
25 καὶ ὁμοιομερῶν θεωρίᾳ· τοῖς γὰρ περὶ γενέσεως λόγοις ἁρμόττουσαν
ἔχει τὴν σκέψιν· τὸ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν ἀρχή, τὸ δὲ
τροφὴ τῶν γινομένων ἐστίν.
1But in the Selachia the chine, though it is cartilaginous, yet contains marrow; for here it stands in the stead of a bone.
Very nearly resembling the bones to the touch are such parts as nails, hoofs, whether solid or cloven, horns, and the beaks of birds, all of which are intended to serve as means of defence. For the organs which are made out of 5these substances, and which are called by the same names as the substances themselves, the organ hoof, for instance, and the organ horn, are contrivances to ensure the preservation of the animals to which they severally belong. In this class too must be reckoned the teeth, which in some animals have but a single function, namely the mastication of the food, while in others they have an additional office, namely to serve as weapons; 10as is the case with all animals that have sharp interfitting teeth or that have tusks. All these parts are necessarily of solid and earthy character; for the value of a weapon depends on such properties. Their earthy character explains how it is that all such parts are more developed in four-footed vivipara than in man. For there is always more earth in the composition of these animals than in that of the human body. However, not only 15all these parts but such others as are nearly connected with them, skin for instance, bladder, membrane, hairs, feathers, and their analogues, and any other similar parts that there may be, will be considered farther on with the heterogeneous parts. There we shall inquire into the causes which produce them, and into the objects of their presence severally in the bodies of animals. For, as with the heterogeneous parts, so with these, 20it is from a consideration of their functions that alone we can derive any knowledge of them. The reason for dealing with them at all in this part of the treatise, and classifying them with the homogeneous parts, is that under one and the same name are confounded the entire organs and the substances of which they are composed. But of all these substances flesh and bone form the basis. Semen and milk were also passed over when we 25were considering the homogeneous fluids. For the treatise on Generation will afford a more suitable place for their examination, seeing that the former of the two is the very foundation of the thing generated, while the latter is its nourishment.
Very nearly resembling the bones to the touch are such parts as nails, hoofs, whether solid or cloven, horns, and the beaks of birds, all of which are intended to serve as means of defence. For the organs which are made out of 5these substances, and which are called by the same names as the substances themselves, the organ hoof, for instance, and the organ horn, are contrivances to ensure the preservation of the animals to which they severally belong. In this class too must be reckoned the teeth, which in some animals have but a single function, namely the mastication of the food, while in others they have an additional office, namely to serve as weapons; 10as is the case with all animals that have sharp interfitting teeth or that have tusks. All these parts are necessarily of solid and earthy character; for the value of a weapon depends on such properties. Their earthy character explains how it is that all such parts are more developed in four-footed vivipara than in man. For there is always more earth in the composition of these animals than in that of the human body. However, not only 15all these parts but such others as are nearly connected with them, skin for instance, bladder, membrane, hairs, feathers, and their analogues, and any other similar parts that there may be, will be considered farther on with the heterogeneous parts. There we shall inquire into the causes which produce them, and into the objects of their presence severally in the bodies of animals. For, as with the heterogeneous parts, so with these, 20it is from a consideration of their functions that alone we can derive any knowledge of them. The reason for dealing with them at all in this part of the treatise, and classifying them with the homogeneous parts, is that under one and the same name are confounded the entire organs and the substances of which they are composed. But of all these substances flesh and bone form the basis. Semen and milk were also passed over when we 25were considering the homogeneous fluids. For the treatise on Generation will afford a more suitable place for their examination, seeing that the former of the two is the very foundation of the thing generated, while the latter is its nourishment.
Book 2,Chapter 10 (655b28–657a11)
Νῦν δὲ λέγωμεν οἷον ἀπ' ἀρχῆς πάλιν, ἀρξάμενοι
πρῶτον ἀπὸ τῶν πρώτων. Πᾶσι γὰρ τοῖς ζῴοις τοῖς τελείοις
30 δύο τὰ ἀναγκαιότατα μόριά ἐστιν, ᾗ τε δέχονται
τὴν τροφὴν καὶ ᾗ τὸ περίττωμα ἀφήσουσιν· οὔτε γὰρ εἶναι
οὔτε αὐξάνεσθαι ἐνδέχεται ἄνευ τροφῆς. Τὰ μὲν οὖν φυτά
(καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα ζῆν φαμεν) τοῦ μὲν ἀχρήστου περιττώματος
οὐκ ἔχει τόπον· ἐκ τῆς γῆς γὰρ λαμβάνει πεπεμμένην
35 τὴν τροφήν, ἀντὶ δὲ τούτου προΐεται τὰ σπέρματα καὶ
τοὺς καρπούς. Τρίτον δὲ μέρος ἐν πᾶσίν ἐστι τὸ τούτων μέσον,
ἐν ᾧ ἡ ἀρχή ἐστιν ἡ τῆς ζωῆς. Ἡ μὲν οὖν τῶν φυτῶν φύσις
Let us now make, as it were, a fresh beginning, and consider the heterogeneous parts, taking those first which are the first in importance. For in all animals, at least in all the perfect kinds, 30there are two parts more essential than the rest, namely the part which serves for the ingestion of food, and the part which serves for the discharge of its residue. For without food growth and even existence is impossible. Intervening again between these two parts there is invariably a third, in which is lodged the vital principle. As for plants, though they also are included by us among things that have life, yet are they without 35any part for the discharge of waste residue. For the food which they absorb from the ground is already concocted, and they give off as its equivalent their seeds and fruits.
656a
1 οὖσα μόνιμος οὐ πολυειδής ἐστι τῶν ἀνομοιομερῶν·
πρὸς γὰρ ὀλίγας πράξεις ὀλίγων ὀργάνων ἡ χρῆσις· διὸ θεωρητέον
καθ' αὑτὰ περὶ τῆς ἰδέας αὐτῶν. Τὰ δὲ πρὸς τῷ ζῆν
αἴσθησιν ἔχοντα πολυμορφοτέραν ἔχει τὴν ἰδέαν, καὶ τούτων
5 ἕτερα πρὸ ἑτέρων μᾶλλον, καὶ πολυχουστέραν, ὅσων μὴ
μόνον τοῦ ζῆν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ εὖ ζῆν ἡ φύσις μετείληφεν.
Τοιοῦτο δ' ἐστὶ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος· ἢ γὰρ μόνον μετέχει
τοῦ θείου τῶν ἡμῖν γνωρίμων ζῴων, ἢ μάλιστα πάντων. Ὥστε
διά τε τοῦτο, καὶ διὰ τὸ γνώριμον εἶναι μάλιστ' αὐτοῦ τὴν
10 τῶν ἔξωθεν μορίων μορφήν, περὶ τούτου λεκτέον πρῶτον. Εὐθὺς
γὰρ καὶ τὰ φύσει μόρια κατὰ φύσιν ἔχει τούτῳ
μόνῳ, καὶ τὸ τούτου ἄνω πρὸς τὸ τοῦ ὅλου ἔχει ἄνω· μόνον
γὰρ ὀρθόν ἐστι τῶν ζῴων ἄνθρωπος. Τὸ μὲν οὖν ἔχειν τὴν
κεφαλὴν ἄσαρκον ἐκ τῶν περὶ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον εἰρημένων
15 ἀναγκαῖον συμβέβηκεν. Οὐ γὰρ ὥσπερ τινὲς λέγουσιν, ὅτι εἰ
σαρκώδης ἦν, μακροβιώτερον ἂν ἦν τὸ γένος· ἀλλ' εὐαισθησίας
ἕνεκεν ἄσαρκον εἶναί φασιν· αἰσθάνεσθαι μὲν γὰρ
τῷ ἐγκεφάλῳ, τὴν δ' αἴσθησιν οὐ προσίεσθαι τὰ μόρια τὰ
σαρκώδη λίαν. Τούτων δ' οὐδέτερόν ἐστιν ἀληθές, ἀλλὰ πολύσαρκος
20 μὲν ὁ τόπος ὢν ὁ περὶ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον τοὐναντίον ἂν
ἀπειργάζετο οὗ ἕνεκα ὑπάρχει τοῖς ζῴοις ὁ ἐγκέφαλος
(οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐδύνατο καταψύχειν ἀλεαίνων αὐτὸς λίαν),
τῶν τ' αἰσθήσεων οὐκ αἴτιος οὐδεμιᾶς, ὅς γε ἀναίσθητος καὶ
αὐτός ἐστιν ὥσπερ ὁτιοῦν τῶν περιττωμάτων. Ἀλλ' οὐχ εὑρίσκοντες
25 διὰ τίνα αἰτίαν ἔνιαι τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ
τοῖς ζῴοις εἰσί, τοῦτο δ' ὁρῶντες ἰδιαίτερον ὂν τῶν ἄλλων
μορίων, ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ πρὸς ἄλληλα συνδυάζουσιν. Ὅτι μὲν
οὖν ἀρχὴ τῶν αἰσθήσεών ἐστιν ὁ περὶ τὴν καρδίαν τόπος, διώρισται
πρότερον ἐν τοῖς περὶ αἰσθήσεως· καὶ διότι αἱ μὲν δύο
30 φανερῶς ἠρτημέναι πρὸς τὴν καρδίαν εἰσίν, ἥ τε τῶν ἁπτῶν
καὶ ἡ τῶν χυμῶν, τῶν δὲ τριῶν ἡ μὲν τῆς ὀσφρήσεως μέση,
ἀκοὴ δὲ καὶ ὄψις μάλιστ' ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ διὰ τὴν τῶν
αἰσθητηρίων φύσιν εἰσί, καὶ τούτων ἡ ὄψις πᾶσιν, ἐπεὶ ἥ γ'
ἀκοὴ καὶ ἡ ὄσφρησις ἐπὶ τῶν ἰχθύων καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ποιεῖ
35 τὸ λεγόμενον φανερόν· ἀκούουσι μὲν γὰρ καὶ ὀσφραίνονται,
αἰσθητήριον δ' οὐδὲν ἔχουσι φανερὸν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ τούτων τῶν
αἰσθητῶν. Ἡ δ' ὄψις πᾶσι τοῖς ἔχουσιν εὐλόγως ἐστὶ περὶ τὸν
1Plants, again, inasmuch as they are without locomotion, present no great variety in their heterogeneous parts. For, where the functions are but few, few also are the organs required to effect them. The configuration of plants is a matter then for separate consideration. Animals, however, that not only live but feel, present a greater multiformity of parts, 5and this diversity is greater in some animals than in others, being most varied in those to whose share has fallen not mere life but life of high degree. Now such an animal is man. For of all living beings with which we are acquainted man alone partakes of the divine, or at any rate partakes of it in a fuller measure than the rest. For this reason, then, and also because his external parts and their forms are more familiar to us than those of 10other animals, we must speak of man first; and this the more fitly, because in him alone do the natural parts hold the natural position; his upper part being turned towards that which is upper in the universe. For, of all animals, man alone stands erect.
In man, then, the head is destitute of flesh; this being the necessary consequence of what has already been stated concerning the brain. There are, indeed, some who hold that the life of man-would 15be longer than it is, were his head more abundantly furnished with flesh; and they account for the absence of this substance by saying that it is intended to add to the perfection of sensation. For the brain they assert to be the organ of sensation; and sensation, they say, cannot penetrate to parts that are too thickly covered with flesh. But neither part of this statement is true. On the contrary, were the region of the brain thickly covered 20with flesh, the very purpose for which animals are provided with a brain would be directly contravened. For the brain would itself be heated to excess and so unable to cool any other part; and, as to the other half of their statement, the brain cannot be the cause of any of the sensations, seeing that it is itself as utterly without feeling as any one of the excretions. These writers see that certain of the senses are located in the head, and are 25unable to discern the reason for this; they see also that the brain is the most peculiar of all the animal organs; and out of these facts they form an argument, by which they link sensation and brain together. It has, however, already been clearly set forth in the treatise on Sensation, that it is the region of the heart that constitutes the sensory centre. There also it was stated that two of the senses, namely touch and taste, are manifestly 30in immediate connexion with the heart; and that as regards the other three, namely hearing, sight, and the centrally placed sense of smell, it is the character of their sense-organs which causes them to be lodged as a rule in the head. Vision is so placed in all animals. But such is not invariably the case with hearing or with smell. For fishes and the like hear and smell, and yet have no visible organs for these senses in the head; a fact which 35demonstrates the accuracy of the opinion here maintained. Now that vision, whenever it exists, should be in the neighbourhood of the brain is but what one would rationally expect.
In man, then, the head is destitute of flesh; this being the necessary consequence of what has already been stated concerning the brain. There are, indeed, some who hold that the life of man-would 15be longer than it is, were his head more abundantly furnished with flesh; and they account for the absence of this substance by saying that it is intended to add to the perfection of sensation. For the brain they assert to be the organ of sensation; and sensation, they say, cannot penetrate to parts that are too thickly covered with flesh. But neither part of this statement is true. On the contrary, were the region of the brain thickly covered 20with flesh, the very purpose for which animals are provided with a brain would be directly contravened. For the brain would itself be heated to excess and so unable to cool any other part; and, as to the other half of their statement, the brain cannot be the cause of any of the sensations, seeing that it is itself as utterly without feeling as any one of the excretions. These writers see that certain of the senses are located in the head, and are 25unable to discern the reason for this; they see also that the brain is the most peculiar of all the animal organs; and out of these facts they form an argument, by which they link sensation and brain together. It has, however, already been clearly set forth in the treatise on Sensation, that it is the region of the heart that constitutes the sensory centre. There also it was stated that two of the senses, namely touch and taste, are manifestly 30in immediate connexion with the heart; and that as regards the other three, namely hearing, sight, and the centrally placed sense of smell, it is the character of their sense-organs which causes them to be lodged as a rule in the head. Vision is so placed in all animals. But such is not invariably the case with hearing or with smell. For fishes and the like hear and smell, and yet have no visible organs for these senses in the head; a fact which 35demonstrates the accuracy of the opinion here maintained. Now that vision, whenever it exists, should be in the neighbourhood of the brain is but what one would rationally expect.
656b
1 ἐγκέφαλον· ὁ μὲν γὰρ ὑγρὸς καὶ ψυχρός, ἡ δ' ὕδωρ τὴν
φύσιν ἐστίν· τοῦτο γὰρ τῶν διαφανῶν εὐφυλακτότατόν ἐστιν.
Ἔτι δὲ τὰς ἀκριβεστέρας τῶν αἰσθήσεων διὰ τῶν καθαρώτερον
ἐχόντων τὸ αἷμα μορίων ἀναγκαῖον ἀκριβεστέρας γίνεσθαι·
5 ἐκκόπτει γὰρ ἡ τῆς ἐν τῷ αἵματι θερμότητος κίνησις τὴν
αἰσθητικὴν ἐνέργειαν· διὰ ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ
τούτων τὰ αἰσθητήριά ἐστιν. Οὐ μόνον δ' ἐστὶ τὸ ἔμπροσθεν ἄσαρκον,
ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ὄπισθεν τῆς κεφαλῆς, διὰ τὸ πᾶσι τοῖς ἔχουσιν
αὐτὴν ὀρθότατον δεῖν εἶναι τοῦτο τὸ μόριον· οὐδὲν γὰρ ὀρθοῦσθαι
10 δύναται φορτίον ἔχον, ἦν δ' ἂν τοιοῦτον, εἰ σεσαρκωμένην
εἶχε τὴν κεφαλήν. Ἧι καὶ δῆλον ὅτι οὐ τῆς τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου
αἰσθήσεως χάριν ἄσαρκος ἡ κεφαλή ἐστιν· τὸ γὰρ
ὄπισθεν οὐκ ἔχει ἐγκέφαλον, ἄσαρκον δ' ὁμοίως. Ἔχει δὲ
καὶ τὴν ἀκοὴν εὐλόγως ἔνια τῶν ζῴων ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τῷ περὶ
15 τὴν κεφαλήν· τὸ γὰρ κενὸν καλούμενον ἀέρος πλῆρές ἐστι,
τὸ δὲ τῆς ἀκοῆς αἰσθητήριον ἀέρος εἶναί φαμεν. Ἐκ μὲν οὖν
τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν οἱ πόροι φέρουσιν εἰς τὰς περὶ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον
φλέβας· πάλιν δ' ἐκ τῶν ὤτων ὡσαύτως πόρος εἰς τοὔπισθεν
συνάπτει. Ἔστι δ' οὔτ' ἄναιμον οὐδὲν αἰσθητικὸν οὔτε τὸ
20 αἷμα, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐκ τούτου τι. Διόπερ οὐδὲν ἐν τοῖς ἐναίμοις
ἄναιμον αἰσθητικόν, οὐδ' αὐτὸ τὸ αἷμα· οὐδὲν γὰρ τῶν ζῴων
μόριον. Ἔχει δ' ἐν τῷ ἔμπροσθεν τὸν ἐγκέφαλον πάντα τὰ
ἔχοντα τοῦτο τὸ μόριον, διὰ τὸ ἔμπροσθεν εἶναι ἐφ' ὃ αἰσθάνεται,
τὴν δ' αἴσθησιν ἀπὸ τῆς καρδίας, ταύτην δ' εἶναι
25 ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν, καὶ τὸ αἰσθάνεσθαι διὰ τῶν ἐναίμων γίνεσθαι
μορίων, φλεβῶν δ' εἶναι κενὸν τὸ ὄπισθεν κύτος. Τέτακται
δὲ τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον τὰ αἰσθητήρια τῇ φύσει καλῶς,
τὰ μὲν τῆς ἀκοῆς ἐπὶ μέσης τῆς περιφερείας (ἀκούει γὰρ οὐ
μόνον κατ' εὐθυωρίαν ἀλλὰ πάντοθεν), ἡ δ' ὄψις εἰς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν
30 (ὁρᾷ γὰρ κατ' εὐθυωρίαν, ἡ δὲ κίνησις εἰς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν,
προορᾶν δὲ δεῖ ἐφ' ὃ ἡ κίνησις). Ἡ δὲ τῆς ὀσφρήσεως
μεταξὺ τῶν ὀμμάτων εὐλόγως. Διπλοῦν μὲν γάρ ἐστιν
ἕκαστον τῶν αἰσθητηρίων διὰ τὸ διπλοῦν εἶναι τὸ σῶμα, τὸ
μὲν δεξιὸν τὸ δ' ἀριστερόν. Ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς ἁφῆς τοῦτ' ἄδηλον·
35 τούτου δ' αἴτιον ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι τὸ πρῶτον αἰσθητήριον ἡ σὰρξ καὶ
τὸ τοιοῦτον μόριον, ἄλλ' ἐντός. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς γλώττης ἧττον
μέν, μᾶλλον δ' ἢ ἐπὶ τῆς ἁφῆς· ἔστι γὰρ οἷον ἁφή τις καὶ
1For the brain is fluid and cold, and vision is of the nature of water, water being of all transparent substances the one most easily confined. Moreover it cannot but necessarily be that the more precise senses will have their precision rendered still greater if ministered to by parts that have the purest blood. For the motion of the heat 5of blood destroys sensory activity. For these reasons the organs of the precise senses are lodged in the head.
It is not only the fore part of the head that is destitute of flesh, but the hind part also. For, in all animals that have a head, it is this head which more than any other part requires to be held up. But, were the head heavily laden with flesh, this would be impossible; for nothing so burdened can be held 10upright. This is an additional proof that the absence of flesh from the head has no reference to brain sensation. For there is no brain in the hinder part of the head, and yet this is as much without flesh as is the front.
In some animals hearing as well as vision is lodged in the region of the head. Nor is this without a rational explanation. For what is called the empty space is full of air, and the organ of hearing is, as 15we say, of the nature of air. Now there are channels which lead from the eyes to the blood-vessels that surround the brain; and similarly there is a channel which leads back again from each ear and connects it with the hinder part of the head. But no part that is without blood is endowed with sensation, as neither is the blood itself, but only some one of the parts that are formed of blood.
The brain in all animals that 20have one is placed in the front part of the head; because the direction in which sensation acts is in front; and because the heart, from which sensation proceeds, is in the front part of the body; and lastly because the instruments of sensation are the blood-containing parts, and the cavity in the posterior part of the skull is destitute of blood-vessels.
As to the position of the sense-organs, they have been arranged 25by nature in the following well-ordered manner. The organs of hearing are so placed as to divide the circumference of the head into two equal halves; for they have to hear not only sounds which are directly in line with themselves, but sounds from all quarters. The organs of vision are placed in front, because sight is exercised only in a straight line, and moving as we do in a forward direction it is necessary that we 30should see before us, in the direction of our motion. Lastly, the organs of smell are placed with good reason between the eyes. For as the body consists of two parts, a right half and a left, so also each organ of sense is double. In the case of touch this is not apparent, the reason being that the primary organ of this sense is not the flesh or analogous part, but lies internally. In the case of taste, which is merely a 35modification of touch and which is placed in the tongue, the fact is more apparent than in the case of touch, but still not so manifest as in the case of the other senses.
It is not only the fore part of the head that is destitute of flesh, but the hind part also. For, in all animals that have a head, it is this head which more than any other part requires to be held up. But, were the head heavily laden with flesh, this would be impossible; for nothing so burdened can be held 10upright. This is an additional proof that the absence of flesh from the head has no reference to brain sensation. For there is no brain in the hinder part of the head, and yet this is as much without flesh as is the front.
In some animals hearing as well as vision is lodged in the region of the head. Nor is this without a rational explanation. For what is called the empty space is full of air, and the organ of hearing is, as 15we say, of the nature of air. Now there are channels which lead from the eyes to the blood-vessels that surround the brain; and similarly there is a channel which leads back again from each ear and connects it with the hinder part of the head. But no part that is without blood is endowed with sensation, as neither is the blood itself, but only some one of the parts that are formed of blood.
The brain in all animals that 20have one is placed in the front part of the head; because the direction in which sensation acts is in front; and because the heart, from which sensation proceeds, is in the front part of the body; and lastly because the instruments of sensation are the blood-containing parts, and the cavity in the posterior part of the skull is destitute of blood-vessels.
As to the position of the sense-organs, they have been arranged 25by nature in the following well-ordered manner. The organs of hearing are so placed as to divide the circumference of the head into two equal halves; for they have to hear not only sounds which are directly in line with themselves, but sounds from all quarters. The organs of vision are placed in front, because sight is exercised only in a straight line, and moving as we do in a forward direction it is necessary that we 30should see before us, in the direction of our motion. Lastly, the organs of smell are placed with good reason between the eyes. For as the body consists of two parts, a right half and a left, so also each organ of sense is double. In the case of touch this is not apparent, the reason being that the primary organ of this sense is not the flesh or analogous part, but lies internally. In the case of taste, which is merely a 35modification of touch and which is placed in the tongue, the fact is more apparent than in the case of touch, but still not so manifest as in the case of the other senses.
657a
1 αὕτη ἡ αἴσθησις. Ὅμως δὲ δῆλον καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτης· φαίνεται
γὰρ ἐσχισμένη. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων αἰσθητηρίων φανερωτέρως
ἐστὶν ἡ αἴσθησις διμερής· ὦτά τε γὰρ δύο καὶ ὄμματα
καὶ ἡ τῶν μυκτήρων δύναμις διφυής ἐστιν. Ἄλλον οὖν ἂν
5 τρόπον κειμένη καὶ διεσπασμένη, καθάπερ ἡ τῆς ἀκοῆς, οὐκ
ἂν ἐποίει τὸ αὑτῆς ἔργον, οὐδὲ τὸ μόριον ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν· διὰ γὰρ
τῆς ἀναπνοῆς ἡ αἴσθησις τοῖς ἔχουσι μυκτῆρας, τοῦτο δὲ τὸ
μόριον κατὰ μέσον καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθέν ἐστιν. Διόπερ εἰς
μέσον τῶν τριῶν αἰσθητηρίων συνήγαγεν ἡ φύσις τοὺς μυκτῆρας,
10 οἷον ἐπὶ στάθμην θεῖσα μίαν ἐπὶ τὴν τῆς ἀναπνοῆς
κίνησιν. Καλῶς δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἔχει ταῦτα τὰ αἰσθητήρια
ζῴοις πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν φύσιν ἑκάστῳ.
1However, even in taste it is evident enough; for in some animals the tongue is plainly forked. The double character of the sensations is, however, more conspicuous in the other organs of sense. For there are two ears and two eyes, and the nostrils, though joined together, are also two. Were these latter otherwise disposed, and separated from each other as are 5the ears, neither they nor the nose in which they are placed would be able to perform their office. For in such animals as have nostrils olfaction is effected by means of inspiration, and the organ of inspiration is placed in front and in the middle line. This is the reason why nature has brought the two nostrils together and placed them as the central of the three sense-organs, setting them side by side on a level with each other, to avail themselves 10of the inspiratory motion. In other animals than man the arrangement of these sense-organs is also such as is adapted in each case to the special requirements.
Book 2,Chapter 11 (657a12–16)
Τὰ μὲν γὰρ τετράποδα
ἀπηρτημένα ἔχει τὰ ὦτα καὶ ἄνωθεν τῶν ὀμμάτων,
ὡς δόξειεν ἄν. Οὐκ ἔχει δέ, ἀλλὰ φαίνεται διὰ τὸ μὴ ὀρθὰ
15 εἶναι τὰ ζῷα ἀλλὰ κύπτειν. Οὕτω δὲ τὸ πλεῖστον κινουμένων
χρήσιμα μετεωρότερά τε ὄντα καὶ κινούμενα· δέχεται γὰρ
στρεφόμενα πάντοθεν τοὺς ψόφους μᾶλλον.
For instance, in quadrupeds the ears stand out freely from the head and are set to all appearance above the eyes. Not that they are in reality above the eyes; but they seem to be so, because the animal does not stand erect, but has its head hung downwards. This being the usual attitude of the 15animal when in motion, it is of advantage that its ears shall be high up and movable; for by turning themselves about they can the better take in sounds from every quarter.
Book 2,Chapter 12 (657a17–24)
Οἱ δ' ὄρνιθες
τοὺς πόρους μόνον ἔχουσι διὰ τὴν τοῦ δέρματος σκληρότητα, καὶ
τὸ ἔχειν μὴ τρίχας ἀλλὰ πτερωτὰ εἶναι· οὐκ οὖν ἔχει τοιαύτην
20 ὕλην ἐξ ἧς ἂν ἔπλασε τὰ ὦτα. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῶν
τετραπόδων τὰ ᾠοτόκα καὶ φολιδωτά· ὁ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἁρμόσει
καὶ ἐπ' ἐκείνων λόγος. Ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἡ φώκη τῶν ζῳοτόκων
οὐκ ὦτα ἀλλὰ πόρους ἀκοῆς, διὰ τὸ πεπηρωμένον εἶναι
τετράπουν.
In birds, on the other hand, there are no ears, but only the auditory passages. This is because their skin is hard and because they have feathers instead of hairs, so that they have not got the proper material for the formation of ears. Exactly the same is the case with such oviparous 20quadrupeds as are clad with scaly plates, and the same explanation applies to them. There is also one of the viviparous quadrupeds, namely the seal, that has no ears but only the auditory passages. The explanation of this is that the seal, though a quadruped, is a quadruped of stunted formation.
Book 2,Chapter 13 (657a25–658a10)
25 Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἄνθρωποι καὶ οἱ ὄρνιθες καὶ τὰ ζῳοτόκα
καὶ τὰ ᾠοτόκα τῶν τετραπόδων φυλακὴν ἔχουσι τῆς ὄψεως,
τὰ μὲν ζῳοτόκα βλέφαρα δύο, οἷς καὶ σκαρδαμύττουσι,
τῶν δ' ὀρνίθων ἄλλοι τε καὶ οἱ βαρεῖς καὶ τὰ ᾠοτόκα τῶν
τετραπόδων τῇ κάτω βλεφαρίδι μύουσιν· σκαρδαμύττουσι δ'
30 οἱ ὄρνιθες ἐκ τῶν κανθῶν ὑμένι. Τοῦ μὲν οὖν φυλακὴν ἔχειν
αἴτιον τὸ ὑγρὰ τὰ ὄμματα εἶναι, ἵνα ὀξὺ βλέπωσι τοῦτον
τὸν τρόπον ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως. Σκληρόδερμα γὰρ ὄντα ἀβλαβέστερα
μὲν ἂν ἦν ὑπὸ τῶν ἔξωθεν προσπιπτόντων, οὐκ ὀξυωπὰ
δέ. Τοῦ μὲν οὖν εὖ ἕνεκα λεπτὸν τὸ δέρμα τὸ περὶ τὴν κόρην
35 ἐστί, τῆς δὲ σωτηρίας χάριν τὰ βλέφαρα· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο
σκαρδαμύσσει τε πάντα καὶ μάλιστ' ἄνθρωπος, πάντα μὲν
ὅπως τὰ προσπίπτοντα τοῖς βλεφάροις κωλύωσι (καὶ τοῦτο
Men, and Birds, and Quadrupeds, viviparous and oviparous alike, have their eyes protected by lids. In the Vivipara there are two of these; and both are used 25by these animals not only in closing the eyes, but also in the act of blinking; whereas the oviparous quadrupeds, and the heavy-bodied birds as well as some others, use only the lower lid to close the eye; while birds blink by means of a membrane that issues from the canthus. The reason for the eyes being thus protected is that nature has made them of fluid consistency, in order to ensure keenness of vision. For had they been covered with hard skin, 30they would, it is true, have been less liable to get injured by anything falling into them from without, but they would not have been sharp-sighted. It is then to ensure keenness of vision that the skin over the pupil is fine and delicate; while the lids are superadded as a protection from injury. It is as a still further safeguard that all these animals blink, and man most of all; this action (which is not performed from deliberate intention but from 35a natural instinct) serving to keep objects from falling into the eyes; and being more frequent in man than in the rest of these animals, because of the greater delicacy of his skin.
657b
1 οὐκ ἐκ προαιρέσεως, ἀλλ' ἡ φύσις ἐποίησε), πλειστάκις δ'
ὁ ἄνθρωπος διὰ τὸ λεπτοδερμότατος εἶναι. Ἡ δὲ βλεφαρίς
ἐστι δέρματι περιειλημμένη· διὸ καὶ οὐ συμφύεται οὔτε βλεφαρὶς
οὔτε ἀκροποσθία, ὅτι ἄνευ σαρκὸς δέρματά ἐστιν. Τῶν
5 δ' ὀρνίθων ὅσοι τῇ κάτω βλεφαρίδι μύουσι, καὶ τὰ ᾠοτόκα
τῶν τετραπόδων, διὰ τὴν σκληρότητα τοῦ δέρματος τοῦ περὶ
τὴν κεφαλὴν οὕτω μύουσιν. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ βαρεῖς τῶν πτερωτῶν
διὰ τὸ μὴ πτητικοὶ εἶναι τὴν τῶν πτερῶν αὔξησιν εἰς τὴν τοῦ
δέρματος παχύτητα τετραμμένην ἔχουσιν. Διὸ καὶ οὗτοι μὲν
10 τῷ κάτω βλεφάρῳ μύουσι, περιστεραὶ δὲ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα
ἀμφοῖν. Τὰ δὲ τετράποδα τῶν ᾠοτόκων φολιδωτά ἐστιν·
ταῦτα δὲ σκληρότερα πάντα τριχός, ὥστε καὶ τὰ δέρματα
τοῦ δέρματος. Τὸ μὲν οὖν περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν σκληρόν ἐστιν αὐτοῖς,
διόπερ οὐκ ἔχει βλέφαρον ἐκεῖθεν, τὸ δὲ κάτωθεν σαρκῶδες,
15 ὥστ' ἔχειν τὸ βλέφαρον λεπτότητα καὶ τάσιν. Σκαρδαμύττουσι
δ' οἱ βαρεῖς ὄρνιθες τούτῳ μὲν οὔ, τῷ δ' ὑμένι,
διὰ τὸ βραδεῖαν εἶναι τὴν τούτου κίνησιν, δεῖν δὲ ταχεῖαν γίνεσθαι·
ὁ δ' ὑμὴν τοιοῦτον. Ἐκ δὲ τοῦ κανθοῦ τοῦ παρὰ τοὺς
μυκτῆρας σκαρδαμύττουσιν, ὅτι βέλτιον ἀπ' ἀρχῆς μιᾶς
20 τὴν φύσιν εἶναι αὐτῶν, οὗτοι δ' ἔχουσιν ἀρχὴν τὴν πρὸς τὸν
μυκτῆρα πρόσφυσιν· καὶ τὸ πρόσθιον ἀρχὴ τοῦ πλαγίου
μᾶλλον. Τὰ δὲ τετράποδα καὶ ᾠοτόκα οὐ σκαρδαμύττει
ὁμοίως, ὅτι οὐδ' ὑγρὰν αὐτοῖς ἀναγκαῖον ἔχειν καὶ ἀκριβῆ
τὴν ὄψιν ἐπιγείοις οὖσιν. Τοῖς δ' ὄρνισιν ἀναγκαῖον· πόρρωθεν
25 γὰρ ἡ χρῆσις τῆς ὄψεως. Διὸ καὶ τὰ γαμψώνυχα μὲν
ὀξυωπά (ἄνωθεν γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἡ θεωρία τῆς τροφῆς, διὸ καὶ
ἀναπέτονται ταῦτα μάλιστα τῶν ὀρνέων εἰς ὕψος), τὰ δ'
ἐπίγεια καὶ μὴ πτητικά, οἷον ἀλεκτρυόνες καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα,
οὐκ ὀξυωπά· οὐδὲν γὰρ αὐτὰ κατεπείγει πρὸς τὸν βίον. Οἱ
30 δ' ἰχθύες καὶ τὰ ἔντομα καὶ τὰ σκληρόδερμα διαφέροντα
μὲν ἔχουσι τὰ ὄμματα, βλέφαρον δ' οὐδὲν αὐτῶν ἔχει. Τὰ
μὲν γὰρ σκληρόδερμα ὅλως οὐκ ἔχει· ἡ δὲ τοῦ βλεφάρου
χρῆσις ταχεῖαν καὶ δερματικὴν ἔχει τὴν ἐργασίαν· ἀλλ'
ἀντὶ ταύτης τῆς φυλακῆς πάντα σκληρόφθαλμά ἐστιν, οἷον
35 βλέποντα διὰ τοῦ βλεφάρου προσπεφυκότος. Ἐπεὶ δ' ἀναγκαῖον
διὰ τὴν σκληρότητα ἀμβλύτερον βλέπειν, κινουμένους
ἐποίησεν ἡ φύσις τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῖς ἐντόμοις, καὶ μᾶλλον
1These lids are made of a roll of skin; and it is because they are made of skin and contain no flesh that neither they, nor the similarly constructed prepuce, unite again when once cut.
As to the oviparous quadrupeds, and such birds as resemble them in closing the eye with the lower lid, it is the hardness of the skin 5of their heads which makes them do so. For such birds as have heavy bodies are not made for flight; and so the materials which would otherwise have gone to increase the growth of the feathers are diverted thence, and used to augment the thickness of the skin. Birds therefore of this kind close the eye with the lower lid; whereas pigeons and the like use both upper and lower lids for the purpose. As 10birds are covered with feathers, so oviparous quadrupeds are covered with scaly plates; and these in all their forms are harder than hairs, so that the skin also to which they belong is harder than the skin of hairy animals. In these animals, then, the skin on the head is hard, and so does not allow of the formation of an upper eyelid, whereas lower down the integument is of a flesh-like character, 15so that the lower lid can be thin and extensible.
The act of blinking is performed by the heavy-bodied birds by means of the membrane already mentioned, and not by this lower lid. For in blinking rapid motion is required, and such is the motion of this membrane, whereas that of the lower lid is slow. It is from the canthus that is nearest to the nostrils that the membrane comes. For it is better 20to have one starting-point for nictitation than two; and in these birds this starting-point is the junction of eye and nostrils, an anterior starting-point being preferable to a lateral one. Oviparous quadrupeds do not blink in like manner as the birds; for, living as they do on the ground, they are free from the necessity of having eyes of fluid consistency and of keen sight, whereas these are 25essential requisites for birds, inasmuch as they have to use their eyes at long distances. This too explains why birds with talons, that have to search for prey by eye from aloft, and therefore soar to greater heights than other birds, are sharpsighted; while common fowls and the like, that live on the ground and are not made for flight, have no such keenness of vision. For there is nothing in their 30mode of life which imperatively requires it.
Fishes and Insects and the hard-skinned Crustacea present certain differences in their eyes, but so far resemble each other as that none of them have eyelids. As for the hard-skinned Crustacea it is utterly out of the question that they should have any; for an eyelid, to be of use, requires the action of the skin to be rapid. These animals then have no 35eyelids and, in default of this protection, their eyes are hard, just as though the lid were attached to the surface of the eye, and the animal saw through it.
As to the oviparous quadrupeds, and such birds as resemble them in closing the eye with the lower lid, it is the hardness of the skin 5of their heads which makes them do so. For such birds as have heavy bodies are not made for flight; and so the materials which would otherwise have gone to increase the growth of the feathers are diverted thence, and used to augment the thickness of the skin. Birds therefore of this kind close the eye with the lower lid; whereas pigeons and the like use both upper and lower lids for the purpose. As 10birds are covered with feathers, so oviparous quadrupeds are covered with scaly plates; and these in all their forms are harder than hairs, so that the skin also to which they belong is harder than the skin of hairy animals. In these animals, then, the skin on the head is hard, and so does not allow of the formation of an upper eyelid, whereas lower down the integument is of a flesh-like character, 15so that the lower lid can be thin and extensible.
The act of blinking is performed by the heavy-bodied birds by means of the membrane already mentioned, and not by this lower lid. For in blinking rapid motion is required, and such is the motion of this membrane, whereas that of the lower lid is slow. It is from the canthus that is nearest to the nostrils that the membrane comes. For it is better 20to have one starting-point for nictitation than two; and in these birds this starting-point is the junction of eye and nostrils, an anterior starting-point being preferable to a lateral one. Oviparous quadrupeds do not blink in like manner as the birds; for, living as they do on the ground, they are free from the necessity of having eyes of fluid consistency and of keen sight, whereas these are 25essential requisites for birds, inasmuch as they have to use their eyes at long distances. This too explains why birds with talons, that have to search for prey by eye from aloft, and therefore soar to greater heights than other birds, are sharpsighted; while common fowls and the like, that live on the ground and are not made for flight, have no such keenness of vision. For there is nothing in their 30mode of life which imperatively requires it.
Fishes and Insects and the hard-skinned Crustacea present certain differences in their eyes, but so far resemble each other as that none of them have eyelids. As for the hard-skinned Crustacea it is utterly out of the question that they should have any; for an eyelid, to be of use, requires the action of the skin to be rapid. These animals then have no 35eyelids and, in default of this protection, their eyes are hard, just as though the lid were attached to the surface of the eye, and the animal saw through it.
658a
1 ἔτι τοῖς σκληροδέρμοις, ὥσπερ ἔνια τῶν τετραπόδων
τὰ ὦτα, ὅπως ὀξύτερον βλέπῃ στρέφοντα πρὸς τὸ φῶς καὶ
δεχόμενα τὴν αὐγήν. Οἱ δ' ἰχθύες ὑγρόφθαλμοι μέν εἰσιν.
Ἀναγκαία γὰρ τοῖς πολλὴν ποιουμένοις κίνησιν ἡ τῆς ὄψεως
5 ἐκ πολλοῦ χρῆσις. Τοῖς μὲν οὖν πεζοῖς ὁ ἀὴρ εὐδίοπτος·
ἐκείνοις δ' ἐπεὶ τὸ ὕδωρ πρὸς μὲν τὸ ὀξὺ βλέπειν ἐναντίον,
οὐκ ἔχει δὲ πολλὰ τὰ προσκρούσματα πρὸς τὴν ὄψιν ὥσπερ
ὁ ἀήρ, διὰ μὲν τοῦτ' οὐκ ἔχει βλέφαρον (οὐδὲν γὰρ ἡ φύσις
ποιεῖ μάτην), πρὸς δὲ τὴν παχύτητα τοῦ ὕδατος ὑγρόφθαλμοί
10 εἰσιν.
1Inasmuch, however, as such hardness must necessarily blunt the sharpness of vision, nature has endowed the eyes of Insects, and still more those of Crustacea, with mobility (just as she has given some quadrupeds movable ears), in order that they may be able to turn to the light and catch its rays, and so see more plainly. Fishes, however, have eyes of a 5fluid consistency. For animals that move much about have to use their vision at considerable distances. If now they live on land, the air in which they move is transparent enough. But the water in which fishes live is a hindrance to sharp sight, though it has this advantage over the air, that it does not contain so many objects to knock against the eyes. The risk of collision being thus small, nature, who makes nothing in vain, has given no 10eyelids to fishes, while to counterbalance the opacity of the water she has made their eyes of fluid consistency.
Book 2,Chapter 14 (658a11–658b13)
Βλεφαρίδας δ' ἐπὶ τῶν βλεφάρων ἔχουσιν ὅσα τρίχας
ἔχουσιν, ὄρνιθες δὲ καὶ τῶν φολιδωτῶν οὐδέν· οὐ γὰρ ἔχουσι
τρίχας. Περὶ γὰρ τοῦ στρουθοῦ τοῦ Λιβυκοῦ τὴν αἰτίαν ὕστερον
ἐροῦμεν· τοῦτο γὰρ ἔχει βλεφαρίδας τὸ ζῷον. Καὶ τῶν ἐχόντων
15 τρίχας ἐπ' ἀμφότερα οἱ ἄνθρωποι μόνον ἔχουσιν. Τὰ
γὰρ τετράποδα τῶν ζῴων ἐν τοῖς ὑπτίοις οὐκ ἔχει τρίχας,
ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς πρανέσι μᾶλλον· οἱ δ' ἄνθρωποι τοὐναντίον ἐν
τοῖς ὑπτίοις μᾶλλον ἢ ἐν τοῖς πρανέσιν. Σκέπης γὰρ χάριν
αἱ τρίχες ὑπάρχουσι τοῖς ἔχουσιν· τοῖς μὲν οὖν τετράποσι τὰ
20 πρανῆ δεῖται μᾶλλον τῆς σκέπης, τὰ δὲ πρόσθια τιμιώτερα
μέν, ἀλλ' ἀλεάζει διὰ τὴν κάμψιν· τοῖς δ' ἀνθρώποις
ἐπεὶ ἐξ ἴσου διὰ τὴν ὀρθότητα τὰ πρόσθια τοῖς ὀπισθίοις, τοῖς
τιμιωτέροις ὑπέγραψεν ἡ φύσις τὴν βοήθειαν· ἀεὶ γὰρ ἐκ
τῶν ἐνδεχομένων αἰτία τοῦ βελτίονός ἐστιν. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῶν
25 τετραπόδων οὐθὲν οὔτε βλεφαρίδα ἔχει τὴν κάτωθεν, ἀλλ'
ὑπὸ τοῦτο τὸ βλέφαρον ἐνίοις παραφύονται μαναὶ τρίχες,
οὔτ' ἐν ταῖς μασχάλαις οὔτ' ἐπὶ τῆς ἥβης, ὥσπερ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.
Ἀλλ' ἀντὶ τούτων τὰ μὲν καθ' ὅλον τὸ σῶμα πρανὲς
δεδάσυνται ταῖς θριξίν, οἷον τὸ τῶν κυνῶν γένος, τὰ δὲ
30 λοφιὰν ἔχει, καθάπερ ἵπποι καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν ζῴων,
τὰ δὲ χαίτην, ὥσπερ ὁ ἄρρην λέων. Ἔτι δ' ὅσα κέρκους ἔχει
μῆκος ἐχούσας, καὶ ταύτας ἐπικεκόσμηκεν ἡ φύσις θριξί,
τοῖς μὲν μικρὸν ἔχουσι τὸν στόλον μακραῖς, ὥσπερ τοῖς ἵπποις,
τοῖς δὲ μακρὸν βραχείαις, καὶ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ἄλλου
35 σώματος φύσιν· πανταχοῦ γὰρ ἀποδίδωσι λαβοῦσα ἑτέρωθεν
πρὸς ἄλλο μόριον. Ὅσοις δὲ τὸ σῶμα δασὺ λίαν πεποίηκε,
All animals that have hairs on the body have lashes on the eyelids; but birds and animals with scale-like plates, being hairless, have none. The Libyan ostrich, indeed, forms an exception; for, though a bird, it is furnished with eyelashes. This exception, however, will be explained hereafter. Of hairy animals, man alone has 15lashes on both lids. For in quadrupeds there is a greater abundance of hair on the back than on the under side of the body; whereas in man the contrary is the case, and the hair is more abundant on the front surface than on the back. The reason for this is that hair is intended to serve as a protection to its possessor. Now, in quadrupeds, owing to their inclined attitude, the under or anterior surface does not require so much protection as the 20back, and is therefore left comparatively bald, in spite of its being the nobler of the two sides. But in man, owing to his upright attitude, the anterior and posterior surfaces of the body are on an equality as regards need of protection. Nature therefore has assigned the protective covering to the nobler of the two surfaces; for invariably she brings about the best arrangement of such as are possible. This then is the reason that there is 25no lower eyelash in any quadruped; though in some a few scattered hairs sprout out under the lower lid. This also is the reason that they never have hair in the axillae, nor on the pubes, as man has. Their hair, then, instead of being collected in these parts, is either thickly set over the whole dorsal surface, as is the case for instance in dogs, or, sometimes, forms a mane, as in horses and the like, or as in the male lion where the mane 30is still more flowing and ample. So, again, whenever there is a tail of any length, nature decks it with hair, with long hair if the stem of the tail be short, as in horses, with short hair if the stem be long, regard also being had to the condition of the rest of the body. For nature invariably gives to one part what she subtracts from another. Thus when she has covered the general surface of an animal's body with an excess of hair, she 35leaves a deficiency in the region of the tail. This, for instance, in the case with bears.
658b
1 τούτοις ἐνδεῶς ἔχει τὰ περὶ τὴν κέρκον, οἷον ἐπὶ
τῶν ἄρκτων συμβέβηκεν. Τὴν δὲ κεφαλὴν ἄνθρωπός ἐστι τῶν
ζῴων δασύτατον, ἐξ ἀνάγκης μὲν διὰ τὴν ὑγρότητα τοῦ
ἐγκεφάλου καὶ διὰ τὰς ῥαφάς (ὅπου γὰρ ὑγρὸν καὶ θερμὸν
5 πλεῖστον, ἐνταῦθ' ἀναγκαῖον πλείστην εἶναι τὴν ἔκφυσιν),
ἕνεκεν δὲ βοηθείας, ὅπως σκεπάζωσι φυλάττουσαι τὰς ὑπερβολὰς
τοῦ τε ψύχους καὶ τῆς ἀλέας. Πλεῖστος δ' ὢν καὶ
ὑγρότατος ὁ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐγκέφαλος πλείστης καὶ τῆς
φυλακῆς δεῖται· τὸ γὰρ ὑγρότατον καὶ ζεῖ καὶ ψύχεται
10 μάλιστα, τὸ δ' ἐναντίως ἔχον ἀπαθέστερόν ἐστιν. Ἀλλὰ περὶ
μὲν τούτων παρεκβῆναι συμβέβηκεν ἐχομένοις τῆς περὶ τὰς
βλεφαρίδας αἰτίας, διὰ τὴν συγγένειαν αὐτῶν, ὥστε περὶ
τῶν λοιπῶν ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις καιροῖς ἀποδοτέον τὴν μνείαν.
1No animal has so much hair on the head as man. This, in the first place, is the necessary result of the fluid character of his brain, and of the presence of so many sutures in his skull. For wherever there is the most fluid and the most heat, there also must necessarily occur the greatest outgrowth. But, 5secondly, the thickness of the hair in this part has a final cause, being intended to protect the head, by preserving it from excess of either heat or cold. And as the brain of man is larger and more fluid than that of any other animal, it requires a proportionately greater amount of protection. For the more fluid a substance is, the more readily does it get excessively heated or 10excessively chilled, while substances of an opposite character are less liable to such injurious affections.
These, however, are matters which by their close connexion with eyelashes have led us to digress from our real topic, namely the cause to which these lashes owe their existence. We must therefore defer any further remarks we may have to make on these matters till the proper occasion 15arises and then return to their consideration.
These, however, are matters which by their close connexion with eyelashes have led us to digress from our real topic, namely the cause to which these lashes owe their existence. We must therefore defer any further remarks we may have to make on these matters till the proper occasion 15arises and then return to their consideration.
Book 2,Chapter 15 (658b14–26)
Αἱ δ' ὀφρύες καὶ αἱ βλεφαρίδες ἀμφότεραι βοηθείας
15 χάριν εἰσίν, αἱ μὲν ὀφρύες τῶν καταβαινόντων ὑγρῶν, ὅπως
ἀποστέγωσιν οἷον ἀπογείσωμα τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς ὑγρῶν,
αἱ δὲ βλεφαρίδες τῶν πρὸς τὰ ὄμματα προσπιπτόντων ἕνεκεν,
οἷον τὰ χαρακώματα ποιοῦσί τινες πρὸ τῶν ἐρυμάτων.
Εἰσὶ δ' αἱ μὲν ὀφρύες ἐπὶ συνθέσει ὀστῶν, διὸ καὶ δασύνονται
20 πολλοῖς ἀπογηράσκουσιν οὕτως ὥστε δεῖσθαι κουρᾶς, αἱ δὲ
βλεφαρίδες ἐπὶ πέρατι φλεβίων· ᾗ γὰρ τὸ δέρμα περαίνει,
καὶ τὰ φλέβια πέρας ἔχει τοῦ μήκους. Ὥστ' ἀναγκαῖον διὰ
τὴν ἀπιοῦσαν ἰκμάδα σωματικὴν οὖσαν, ἂν μή τι τῆς φύσεως
ἔργον ἐμποδίσῃ πρὸς ἄλλην χρῆσιν, καὶ διὰ τὴν τοιαύτην
25 αἰτίαν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἐν τοῖς τόποις τούτοις γίνεσθαι
τρίχας.
Both eyebrows and eyelashes exist for the protection of the eyes; the former that they may shelter them, like the eaves of a house, from any fluids that trickle down from the head; the latter to act like the palisades which are sometimes placed in front of enclosures, and keep out any objects which might otherwise get in. The brows 20are placed over the junction of two bones, which is the reason that in old age they often become so bushy as to require cutting. The lashes are set at the terminations of small blood-vessels. For the vessels come to an end where the skin itself terminates; and, in all places where these endings occur, the exudation of moisture of a corporeal character necessitates the growth of hairs, 25unless there be some operation of nature which interferes, by diverting the moisture to another purpose.
Book 2,Chapter 16 (658b27–660a13)
Τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἄλλοις ζῴοις τοῖς τετράποσι καὶ ζῳοτόκοις
οὐ πόρρω τρόπον τινὰ διέστηκεν ἀλλήλων τὸ τῆς ὀσφρήσεως
αἰσθητήριον, ἀλλ' ὅσα μὲν ἔχει προμήκεις εἰς στενὸν
30 ἀπηγμένας τὰς σιαγόνας, ἐν τῷ καλουμένῳ ῥύγχει καὶ
τὸ τῶν μυκτήρων ἐνυπάρχει μόριον κατὰ τὸν ἐνδεχόμενον
τρόπον, τοῖς δ' ἄλλοις μᾶλλον διηρθρωμένον ἐστὶ πρὸς τὰς
σιαγόνας. Ὁ δ' ἐλέφας ἰδιαίτατον ἔχει τοῦτο τὸ μόριον τῶν
ἄλλων ζῴων· τό τε γὰρ μέγεθος καὶ τὴν δύναμιν ἔχει
35 περιττή. Μυκτὴρ γάρ ἐστιν ᾧ τὴν τροφὴν προσάγεται, καθάπερ
χειρὶ χρώμενος, πρὸς τὸ στόμα, τήν τε ξηρὰν καὶ
Viviparous quadrupeds, as a rule, present no great variety of form in the organ of smell. In those of them, however, whose jaws project forwards and taper to a narrow end, so as to form what is called a snout, the nostrils are placed in this projection, there being no other 30available plan; while, in the rest, there is a more definite demarcation between nostrils and jaws. But in no animal is this part so peculiar as in the elephant, where it attains an extraordinary and strength. For the elephant uses its nostril as a hand; this being the instrument with which it conveys food, fluid and solid alike, to its mouth. With it, too, it tears up trees, coiling it 35round their stems. In fact it applies it generally to the purposes of a hand.
659a
1 τὴν ὑγράν, καὶ τὰ δένδρα περιελίττων ἀνασπᾷ, καὶ χρῆται
καθάπερ ἂν εἰ χειρί. Τὴν γὰρ φύσιν ἑλῶδες ἅμα τὸ
ζῷόν ἐστι καὶ πεζόν, ὥστ' ἐπεὶ τὴν τροφὴν ἐξ ὑγροῦ συνέβαινεν
ἔχειν, ἀναπνεῖν δ' ἀναγκαῖον πεζὸν ὂν καὶ ἔναιμον,
5 καὶ μὴ ταχεῖαν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν μεταβολὴν ἐκ τοῦ ὑγροῦ
πρὸς τὸ ξηρόν, καθάπερ ἔνια τῶν ζῳοτόκων καὶ
ἐναίμων καὶ ἀναπνεόντων, τὸ γὰρ μέγεθος ὂν ὑπερβάλλον,
ἀναγκαῖον ὁμοίως ἦν χρῆσθαι τῷ ὑγρῷ ὥσπερ καὶ τῇ γῇ.
Οἷον οὖν τοῖς κολυμβηταῖς ἔνιοι πρὸς τὴν ἀναπνοὴν ὄργανα
10 πορίζονται, ἵνα πολὺν χρόνον ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ μένοντες ἕλκωσιν
ἔξωθεν τοῦ ὑγροῦ διὰ τοῦ ὀργάνου τὸν ἀέρα, τοιοῦτον ἡ
φύσις τὸ τοῦ μυκτῆρος μέγεθος ἐποίησε τοῖς ἐλέφασιν. Διόπερ
ἀναπνέουσιν ἄραντες ἄνω διὰ τοῦ ὕδατος τὸν μυκτῆρα,
ἄν ποτε ποιῶνται δι' ὑγροῦ τὴν πορείαν· καθάπερ γὰρ εἴπομεν,
15 μυκτήρ ἐστιν ἡ προβοσκὶς τοῖς ἐλέφασιν. Ἐπεὶ δ' ἀδύνατον
ἦν εἶναι τὸν μυκτῆρα τοιοῦτον μὴ μαλακὸν ὄντα
μηδὲ κάμπτεσθαι δυνάμενον (ἐνεπόδιζε γὰρ ἂν τῷ μήκει
πρὸς τὸ λαβεῖν τὴν θύραθεν τροφήν, καθάπερ φασὶ τὰ
κέρατα τοῖς ὀπισθονόμοις βουσίν· καὶ γὰρ ἐκείνους νέμεσθαί
20 φασιν ὑποχωροῦντας πάλιν πυγηδόν) ὑπάρξαντος οὖν τοιούτου
τοῦ μυκτῆρος, ἡ φύσις παρακαταχρῆται, καθάπερ εἴωθεν,
ἐπὶ πλείονα τοῖς αὐτοῖς μορίοις, ἀντὶ τῆς τῶν προσθίων
ποδῶν χρείας. Τούτους γὰρ τὰ πολυδάκτυλα τῶν τετραπόδων
ἀντὶ χειρῶν ἔχουσιν, ἀλλ' οὐ μόνον ἕνεχ' ὑποστάσεως τοῦ
25 βάρους· οἱ δ' ἐλέφαντες τῶν πολυδακτύλων εἰσί, καὶ οὔτε
διχαλοὺς ἔχουσιν οὔτε μώνυχας τοὺς πόδας· ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ μέγεθος
πολὺ καὶ τὸ βάρος τὸ τοῦ σώματος, διὰ τοῦτο μόνον
ἐρείσματός εἰσι χάριν, καὶ διὰ τὴν βραδυτῆτα καὶ τὴν
ἀφυΐαν τῆς κάμψεως οὐ χρήσιμον πρὸς ἄλλο οὐδέν. Διὰ
30 μὲν οὖν τὴν ἀναπνοὴν ἔχει μυκτῆρα, καθάπερ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων
ἕκαστον τῶν ἐχόντων πλεύμονα ζῴων, διὰ δὲ τὴν ἐν
τῷ ὑγρῷ διατριβὴν καὶ τὴν βραδυτῆτα τῆς ἐκεῖθεν μεταβολῆς
δυνάμενον ἑλίττεσθαι καὶ μακρόν· ἀφῃρημένης δὲ
τῆς τῶν ποδῶν χρήσεως, καὶ ἡ φύσις, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν, καταχρῆται
35 καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν γινομένην ἂν βοήθειαν
τούτῳ τῷ μορίῳ. Οἱ δ' ὄρνιθες καὶ οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ὅσα
1For the elephant has the double character of a land animal, and of one that lives in swamps. Seeing then that it has to get its food from the water, and yet must necessarily breathe, inasmuch as it is a land animal and has blood; seeing, also, that its excessive weight prevents it from passing rapidly from 5water to land, as some other sanguineous vivipara that breathe can do, it becomes necessary that it shall be suited alike for life in the water and for life on dry land. just then as divers are sometimes provided with instruments for respiration, through which they can draw air from above the water, and thus may remain for a long time under the sea, so also have elephants been furnished 10by nature with their lengthened nostril; and, whenever they have to traverse the water, they lift this up above the surface and breathe through it. For the elephant's proboscis, as already said, is a nostril. Now it would have been impossible for this nostril to have the form of a proboscis, had it been hard and incapable of bending. For its very length would then have prevented the 15animal from supplying itself with food, being as great an impediment as the of certain oxen, that are said to be obliged to walk backwards while they are grazing. It is therefore soft and flexible, and, being such, is made, in addition to its own proper functions, to serve the office of the fore-feet; nature in this following her wonted plan of using one and the same part for several 20purposes. For in polydactylous quadrupeds the fore-feet are intended not merely to support the weight of the body, but to serve as hands. But in elephants, though they must be reckoned polydactylous, as their foot has neither cloven nor solid hoof, the fore-feet, owing to the great size and weight of the body, are reduced to the condition of mere supports; and indeed their slow motion and 25unfitness for bending make them useless for any other purpose. A nostril, then, is given to the elephant for respiration, as to every other animal that has a lung, and is lengthened out and endowed with its power of coiling because the animal has to remain for considerable periods of time in the water, and is unable to pass thence to dry ground with any rapidity. But as the feet are 30shorn of their full office, this same part is also, as already said, made by nature to supply their place, and give such help as otherwise would be rendered by them.
As to other sanguineous animals, the Birds, the Serpents, and the Oviparous quadrupeds, in all of them there are the nostril-holes, placed in front of the mouth; but in none are there any distinctly formed nostrils, nothing 35in fact which can be called nostrils except from a functional point of view.
As to other sanguineous animals, the Birds, the Serpents, and the Oviparous quadrupeds, in all of them there are the nostril-holes, placed in front of the mouth; but in none are there any distinctly formed nostrils, nothing 35in fact which can be called nostrils except from a functional point of view.
659b
1 ἄλλ' ἔναιμα καὶ ᾠοτόκα τῶν τετραπόδων, τοὺς μὲν πόρους
ἔχουσι τῶν μυκτήρων πρὸ τοῦ στόματος, ὥστε δ' εἰπεῖν μυκτῆρας,
εἰ μὴ διὰ τὸ ἔργον, οὐκ ἔχουσι φανερῶς διηρθρωμένους·
ἀλλ' ἥ γε ὄρνις ὥστε μηθέν' ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχειν ῥῖνας.
5 τοῦτο δὲ συμβέβηκεν, ὅτι ἀντὶ σιαγόνων ἔχει τὸ καλούμενον
ῥύγχος. Αἰτία δὲ τούτων ἡ φύσις ἡ τῶν ὀρνίθων συνεστηκυῖα
τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον. Δίπουν γάρ ἐστι καὶ πτερυγωτόν,
ὥστ' ἀνάγκη μικρὸν τὸ βάρος ἔχειν τὸ τοῦ αὐχένος καὶ τὸ
τῆς κεφαλῆς, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ στῆθος στενόν· ὅπως μὲν οὖν ᾖ
10 χρήσιμον πρός τε τὴν ἀλκὴν καὶ διὰ τὴν τροφήν, ὀστῶδες
ἔχουσι τὸ ῥύγχος, στενὸν δὲ διὰ τὴν μικρότητα τῆς κεφαλῆς.
Ἐν δὲ τῷ ῥύγχει τοὺς πόρους ἔχουσι τῆς ὀσφρήσεως,
μυκτῆρας δ' ἔχειν ἀδύνατον. Περὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων τῶν
μὴ ἀναπνεόντων εἴρηται πρότερον δι' ἣν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἔχουσι
15 μυκτῆρας, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν διὰ τῶν βραγχίων, τὰ δὲ διὰ
τοῦ αὐλοῦ, τὰ δ' ἔντομα διὰ τοῦ ὑποζώματος αἰσθάνονται
τῶν ὀσμῶν, καὶ πάντα τῷ συμφύτῳ πνεύματι τοῦ σώματος
ὥσπερ κινεῖται· τοῦτο δ' ὑπάρχει φύσει πᾶσι καὶ οὐ
θύραθεν ἐπείσακτόν ἐστιν.
20 Ὑπὸ δὲ τοὺς μυκτῆρας ἡ τῶν χειλῶν ἐστι φύσις τοῖς
ἔχουσι τῶν ἐναίμων ὀδόντας. Τοῖς γὰρ ὄρνισι, καθάπερ εἴπομεν,
διὰ τὴν τροφὴν καὶ τὴν ἀλκὴν τὸ ῥύγχος ὀστῶδές
ἐστιν· συνῆκται γὰρ εἰς ἓν ἀντ' ὀδόντων καὶ χειλῶν, ὥσπερ
ἂν εἴ τις ἀφελὼν ἀνθρώπου τὰ χείλη καὶ συμφύσας τοὺς
25 ἄνωθεν ὀδόντας χωρὶς καὶ τοὺς κάτωθεν προαγάγοι μῆκος
ποιήσας ἀμφοτέρωθεν εἰς στενόν· εἴη γὰρ ἂν τοῦτο ἤδη ῥύγχος
ὀρνιθῶδες. Τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἄλλοις ζῴοις πρὸς σωτηρίαν
τῶν ὀδόντων ἡ τῶν χειλῶν φύσις ἐστὶ καὶ πρὸς φυλακήν,
διόπερ ὡς ἐκείνων μετέχουσι τοῦ ἀκριβῶς καὶ καλῶς ἢ τοὐναντίον,
30 οὕτω καὶ τοῦ διηρθρῶσθαι τοῦτο τὸ μόριον ἔχουσιν· οἱ
δ' ἄνθρωποι μαλακὰ καὶ σαρκώδη καὶ δυνάμενα χωρίζεσθαι,
φυλακῆς τε ἕνεκα τῶν ὀδόντων ὥσπερ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα,
καὶ μᾶλλον ἔτι διὰ τὸ εὖ· πρὸς γὰρ τὸ χρῆσθαι τῷ λόγῳ
καὶ ταῦτα. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὴν γλῶτταν οὐχ ὁμοίαν τοῖς
35 ἄλλοις ἐποίησεν ἡ φύσις, πρὸς ἐργασίας δύο καταχρησαμένη,
καθάπερ εἴπομεν ποιεῖν αὐτὴν ἐπὶ πολλῶν, τὴν μὲν
1A bird at any rate has nothing which can properly be called a nose. For its so-called beak is a substitute for jaws. The reason for this is to be found in the natural conformation of birds. For they are winged bipeds; and this makes it necessary that their heads and neck shall be of light 5weight; just as it makes it necessary that their breast shall be narrow. The beak therefore with which they are provided is formed of a bone-like substance, in order that it may serve as a weapon as well as for nutritive purposes, but is made of narrow dimensions to suit the small size of the head. In this beak are placed the olfactory passages. But there are no 10nostrils; for such could not possibly be placed there.
As for those animals that have no respiration, it has already been explained why it is that they are without nostrils, and perceive odours either through gills, or through a blowhole, or, if they are insects, by the hypozoma; and how the power of smelling depends, like their motion, upon the innate spirit of their 15bodies, which in all of them is implanted by nature and not introduced from without.
Under the nostrils are the lips, in such sanguineous animals, that is, as have teeth. For in birds, as already has been said, the purposes of nutrition and defence are fulfilled by a bonelike beak, which forms a compound substitute for teeth and lips. For supposing that one were 20to cut off a man's lips, unite his upper teeth together, and similarly his under ones, and then were to lengthen out the two separate pieces thus formed, narrowing them on either side and making them project forwards, supposing, I say, this to be done, we should at once have a bird-like beak.
The use of the lips in all animals except man is to preserve and guard 25the teeth; and thus it is that the distinctness with which the lips are formed is in direct proportion to the degree of nicety and perfection with which the teeth are fashioned. In man the lips are soft and flesh-like and capable of separating from each other. Their purpose, as in other animals, is to guard the teeth, but they are more especially intended to serve a 30higher office, contributing in common with other parts to man's faculty of speech. For just as nature has made man's tongue unlike that of other animals, and, in accordance with what I have said is her not uncommon practice, has used it for two distinct operations, namely for the perception of savours and for speech, so also has she acted with regard to the lips, 35and made them serve both for speech and for the protection of the teeth.
As for those animals that have no respiration, it has already been explained why it is that they are without nostrils, and perceive odours either through gills, or through a blowhole, or, if they are insects, by the hypozoma; and how the power of smelling depends, like their motion, upon the innate spirit of their 15bodies, which in all of them is implanted by nature and not introduced from without.
Under the nostrils are the lips, in such sanguineous animals, that is, as have teeth. For in birds, as already has been said, the purposes of nutrition and defence are fulfilled by a bonelike beak, which forms a compound substitute for teeth and lips. For supposing that one were 20to cut off a man's lips, unite his upper teeth together, and similarly his under ones, and then were to lengthen out the two separate pieces thus formed, narrowing them on either side and making them project forwards, supposing, I say, this to be done, we should at once have a bird-like beak.
The use of the lips in all animals except man is to preserve and guard 25the teeth; and thus it is that the distinctness with which the lips are formed is in direct proportion to the degree of nicety and perfection with which the teeth are fashioned. In man the lips are soft and flesh-like and capable of separating from each other. Their purpose, as in other animals, is to guard the teeth, but they are more especially intended to serve a 30higher office, contributing in common with other parts to man's faculty of speech. For just as nature has made man's tongue unlike that of other animals, and, in accordance with what I have said is her not uncommon practice, has used it for two distinct operations, namely for the perception of savours and for speech, so also has she acted with regard to the lips, 35and made them serve both for speech and for the protection of the teeth.
660a
1 γλῶτταν τῶν τε χυμῶν ἕνεκεν καὶ τοῦ λόγου, τὰ δὲ χείλη
τούτου τε ἕνεκεν καὶ τῆς τῶν ὀδόντων φυλακῆς. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ
λόγος ὁ διὰ τῆς φωνῆς ἐκ τῶν γραμμάτων σύγκειται,
τῆς δὲ γλώττης μὴ τοιαύτης οὔσης μηδὲ τῶν χειλῶν ὑγρῶν
5 οὐκ ἂν φθέγγεσθαι τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν γραμμάτων· τὰ μὲν
γὰρ τῆς γλώττης εἰσὶ προσβολαί, τὰ δὲ συμβολαὶ τῶν
χειλῶν. Ποίας δὲ ταῦτα καὶ πόσας καὶ τίνας ἔχει διαφοράς,
δεῖ πυνθάνεσθαι παρὰ τῶν μετρικῶν. Ἀνάγκη δ' ἦν
εὐθὺς ἀκολουθῆσαι τούτων τῶν μορίων ἑκάτερον πρὸς τὴν εἰρημένην
10 χρῆσιν εὐεργὰ καὶ τοιαύτην ἔχοντα τὴν φύσιν·
διὸ σάρκινα. Μαλακωτάτη δ' ἡ σὰρξ ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑπῆρχεν.
Τοῦτο δὲ διὰ τὸ αἰσθητικώτατον εἶναι τῶν ζῴων τὴν
διὰ τῆς ἁφῆς αἴσθησιν.
1For vocal speech consists of combinations of the letters, and most of these would be impossible to pronounce, were the lips not moist, nor the tongue such as it is. For some letters are formed by closures of the lips and others by applications of the tongue. But what are the differences 5presented by these and what the nature and extent of such differences, are questions to which answers must be sought from those who are versed in metrical science. It was necessary that the two parts which we are discussing should, in conformity with the requirements, be severally adapted to fulfil the office mentioned above, and be of appropriate character. Therefore 10are they made of flesh, and flesh is softer in man than in any other animal, the reason for this being that of all animals man has the most delicate sense of touch.
Book 2,Chapter 17 (660a14–661a30)
Ὑπὸ δὲ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐν τῷ στόματι ἡ γλῶττα τοῖς ζῴοις
15 ἐστί, τοῖς μὲν πεζοῖς σχεδὸν ὁμοίως πᾶσι, τοῖς δ' ἄλλοις
ἀνομοίως καὶ αὐτοῖς πρὸς αὑτὰ καὶ πρὸς τὰ πεζὰ τῶν ζῴων.
Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἄνθρωπος ἀπολελυμένην τε καὶ μαλακωτάτην ἔχει
μάλιστα τὴν γλῶτταν καὶ πλατεῖαν, ὅπως πρὸς ἀμφοτέρας
ᾖ τὰς ἐργασίας χρήσιμος, πρός τε τὴν τῶν χυμῶν αἴσθησιν
20 (ὁ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος εὐαισθητότατος τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων, καὶ ἡ
μαλακὴ γλῶττα· ἁπτικωτάτη γάρ, ἡ δὲ γεῦσις ἁφή τίς
ἐστιν), καὶ πρὸς τὴν τῶν γραμμάτων διάρθρωσιν καὶ πρὸς
τὸν λόγον ἡ μαλακὴ καὶ πλατεῖα χρήσιμος· συστέλλειν
γὰρ καὶ προβάλλειν παντοδαπῇ τοιαύτη οὖσα καὶ ἀπολελυμένη
25 μάλιστ' ἂν δύναιτο. Δηλοῖ δ' ὅσοις μὴ λίαν ἀπολέλυται·
ψελλίζονται γὰρ καὶ τραυλίζουσι, τοῦτο δ' ἐστὶν ἔνδεια
τῶν γραμμάτων. Ἔν τε τῷ πλατεῖαν εἶναι καὶ τὸ στενήν
ἐστιν· ἐν γὰρ τῷ μεγάλῳ καὶ τὸ μικρόν, ἐν δὲ τῷ μικρῷ
τὸ μέγα οὐκ ἔστιν. Διὸ καὶ τῶν ὀρνίθων οἱ μάλιστα φθεγγόμενοι
30 γράμματα πλατυγλωττότεροι τῶν ἄλλων εἰσίν. Τὰ
δ' ἔναιμα καὶ ζῳοτόκα τῶν τετραπόδων βραχεῖαν τῆς φωνῆς
ἔχει διάρθρωσιν· σκληράν τε γὰρ καὶ οὐκ ἀπολελυμένην
ἔχουσι καὶ παχεῖαν τὴν γλῶτταν. Τῶν δ' ὀρνίθων ἔνιοι πολύφωνοι,
καὶ πλατυτέραν οἱ γαμψώνυχοι ἔχουσιν. Πολύφωνοι
35 δ' οἱ μικρότεροι. Καὶ χρῶνται τῇ γλώττῃ καὶ πρὸς ἑρμηνείαν
ἀλλήλοις πάντες μέν, ἕτεροι δὲ τῶν ἑτέρων μᾶλλον,
The tongue is placed under the vaulted roof of the mouth. In land animals it presents but little diversity. But in other animals it is variable, and this whether we compare them as a class with such as 15live on land, or compare their several species with each other. It is in man that the tongue attains its greatest degree of freedom, of softness, and of breadth; the object of this being to render it suitable for its double function. For its softness fits it for the perception of savours, a sense which is more delicate in man than in any other animal, softness 20being most impressionable by touch, of which sense taste is but a variety. This same softness again, together with its breadth, adapts it for the articulation of letters and for speech. For these qualities, combined with its freedom from attachment, are those which suit it best for advancing and retiring in every direction. That this is so is plain, if we consider 25the case of those who are tongue-tied in however slight a degree. For their speech is indistinct and lisping; that is to say there are certain letters which they cannot pronounce. In being broad is comprised the possibility of becoming narrow; for in the great the small is included, but not the great in the small.
What has been said explains why, among birds, those 30that are most capable of pronouncing letters are such as have the broadest tongues; and why the viviparous and sanguineous quadrupeds, where the tongue is hard and thick and not free in its motions, have a very limited vocal articulation. Some birds have a considerable variety of notes. These are the smaller kinds. But it is the birds with talons that have the 35broader tongues. All birds use their tongues to communicate with each other.
What has been said explains why, among birds, those 30that are most capable of pronouncing letters are such as have the broadest tongues; and why the viviparous and sanguineous quadrupeds, where the tongue is hard and thick and not free in its motions, have a very limited vocal articulation. Some birds have a considerable variety of notes. These are the smaller kinds. But it is the birds with talons that have the 35broader tongues. All birds use their tongues to communicate with each other.
660b
1 ὥστ' ἐπ' ἐνίων καὶ μάθησιν εἶναι δοκεῖν παρ' ἀλλήλων· εἴρηται
δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις ταῖς περὶ τῶν ζῴων.
Τῶν δὲ πεζῶν καὶ ᾠοτόκων καὶ ἐναίμων πρὸς μὲν τὴν τῆς
φωνῆς ἐργασίαν ἄχρηστον τὰ πολλὰ τὴν γλῶτταν ἔχει καὶ
5 προσδεδεμένην καὶ σκληράν, πρὸς δὲ τὴν τῶν χυμῶν γεῦσιν
οἵ τ' ὄφεις καὶ οἱ σαῦροι μακρὰν καὶ δικρόαν ἔχουσιν,
οἱ μὲν ὄφεις οὕτω μακρὰν ὥστ' ἐκτείνεσθαι ἐκ μικροῦ ἐπὶ
πολύ, δικρόαν δὲ καὶ τὸ ἄκρον λεπτὸν καὶ τριχῶδες διὰ
τὴν λιχνείαν τῆς φύσεως· διπλῆν γὰρ τὴν ἡδονὴν κτᾶται
10 τῶν χυμῶν, ὥσπερ διπλῆν ἔχοντα τὴν τῆς γεύσεως αἴσθησιν.
Ἔχει δὲ καὶ τὰ μὴ ἔναιμα τῶν ζῴων τὸ αἰσθητικὸν τῶν
χυμῶν μόριον καὶ τὰ ἔναιμα πάντα· καὶ γὰρ ὅσα μὴ δοκεῖ
τοῖς πολλοῖς ἔχειν, οἷον ἔνιοι τῶν ἰχθύων, καὶ οὗτοι τρόπον
τινὰ γλίσχρον ἔχουσι, καὶ σχεδὸν παραπλησίως τοῖς
15 ποταμίοις κροκοδείλοις. Οὐ φαίνονται δ' οἱ πλεῖστοι αὐτῶν
ἔχειν διά τιν' αἰτίαν εὔλογον· ἀκανθώδης τε γάρ ἐστιν ὁ τόπος
τοῦ στόματος πᾶσι τοῖς τοιούτοις, καὶ διὰ τὸ μικρὸν χρόνον
εἶναι τὴν αἴσθησιν τοῖς ἐνύδροις τῶν χυμῶν, ὥσπερ καὶ
ἡ χρῆσις αὐτῆς βραχεῖα, οὕτω βραχεῖαν ἔχουσιν αὐτῆς καὶ
20 τὴν διάρθρωσιν. Ταχεῖα δ' ἡ δίοδος εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν διὰ τὸ
μὴ οἷόν τ' εἶναι διατρίβειν ἐκχυμίζοντας· παρεμπίπτοι γὰρ
ἂν τὸ ὕδωρ. Ὥστ' ἐὰν μή τις τὸ στόμα ἐπικλίνῃ, μὴ φαίνεσθαι
ἀφεστηκὸς τοῦτο τὸ μόριον. Ἀκανθώδης δ' ἐστὶν οὗτος ὁ
τόπος· σύγκειται γὰρ ἐκ τῆς συμψαύσεως τῶν βραγχίων,
25 ὧν ἡ φύσις ἀκανθώδης ἐστίν. Τοῖς δὲ κροκοδείλοις συμβάλλεταί
τι πρὸς τὴν τοῦ μορίου τούτου ἀναπηρίαν καὶ τὸ τὴν σιαγόνα
τὴν κάτω ἀκίνητον ἔχειν. Ἔστι μὲν γὰρ ἡ γλῶττα τῇ
κάτω συμφυής, οἱ δ' ἔχουσιν ὥσπερ ἀνάπαλιν τὴν ἄνω κάτω·
τοῖς γὰρ ἄλλοις ἡ ἄνω ἀκίνητος. Πρὸς μὲν οὖν τῇ ἄνω
30 οὐκ ἔχουσι τὴν γλῶτταν, ὅτι ἐναντίως ἂν ἔχοι πρὸς τὴν τῆς
τροφῆς εἴσοδον, πρὸς δὲ τῇ κάτω, ὅτι ὥσπερ μετακειμένη
ἡ ἄνω ἐστίν. Ἔτι δὲ καὶ συμβέβηκεν αὐτῷ πεζῷ ὄντι ζῆν
ἰχθύων βίον, ὥστε καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀναγκαῖον ἀδιάρθρωτον αὐτὸν
ἔχειν τοῦτο τὸ μόριον. Τὸν δ' οὐρανὸν σαρκώδη πολλοὶ καὶ
35 τῶν ἰχθύων ἔχουσι, καὶ τῶν ποταμίων ἔνιοι σφόδρα σαρκώδη
καὶ μαλακόν, οἷον οἱ καλούμενοι κυπρῖνοι, ὥστε δοκεῖν
1But some do this in a greater degree than the rest; so that in some cases it even seems as though actual instruction were imparted from one to another by its agency. These, however, are matters which have already been discussed in the Researches concerning Animals.
As to those oviparous and sanguineous animals that live not in 5the air but on the earth, their tongue in most cases is tied down and hard, and is therefore useless for vocal purposes; in the serpents, however, and in the lizards it is long and forked, so as to be suited for the perception of savours. So long indeed is this part in serpents, that though small while in the mouth it can be protruded to a great distance. In these animals it is forked and has a fine and hair-like 10extremity, because of their great liking for dainty food. For by this arrangement they derive a twofold pleasure from savours, their gustatory sensation being as it were doubled.
Even some bloodless animals have an organ that serves for the perception of savours; and in sanguineous animals such an organ is invariably variably For even in such of these as would seem to an ordinary observer to have nothing 15of the kind, some of the fishes for example, there is a kind of shabby representative of a tongue, much like what exists in river crocodiles. In most of these cases the apparent absence of the part can be rationally explained on some ground or other. For in the first place the interior of the mouth in animals of this character is invariably spinous. Secondly, in water animals there is but short space of time 20for the perception of savours, and as the use of this sense is thus of short duration, shortened also is the separate part which subserves it. The reason for their food being so rapidly transmitted to the stomach is that they cannot possibly spend any time in sucking out the juices; for were they to attempt to do so, the water would make its way in during the process. Unless therefore one pulls their mouth very 25widely open, the projection of this part is quite invisible. The region exposed by thus opening the mouth is spinous; for it is formed by the close apposition of the gills, which are of a spinous character.
In crocodiles the immobility of the lower jaw also contributes in some measure to stunt the development of the tongue. For the crocodile's tongue is adherent to the lower jaw. For its upper and lower jaws 30are, as it were, inverted, it being the upper jaw which in other animals is the immovable one. The tongue, however, on this animal is not attached to the upper jaw, because that would interfere with the ingestion of food, but adheres to the lower jaw, because this is, as it were, the upper one which has changed its place. Moreover, it is the crocodile's lot, though a land animal, to live the life of a fish, 35and this again necessarily involves an indistinct formation of the part in question.
As to those oviparous and sanguineous animals that live not in 5the air but on the earth, their tongue in most cases is tied down and hard, and is therefore useless for vocal purposes; in the serpents, however, and in the lizards it is long and forked, so as to be suited for the perception of savours. So long indeed is this part in serpents, that though small while in the mouth it can be protruded to a great distance. In these animals it is forked and has a fine and hair-like 10extremity, because of their great liking for dainty food. For by this arrangement they derive a twofold pleasure from savours, their gustatory sensation being as it were doubled.
Even some bloodless animals have an organ that serves for the perception of savours; and in sanguineous animals such an organ is invariably variably For even in such of these as would seem to an ordinary observer to have nothing 15of the kind, some of the fishes for example, there is a kind of shabby representative of a tongue, much like what exists in river crocodiles. In most of these cases the apparent absence of the part can be rationally explained on some ground or other. For in the first place the interior of the mouth in animals of this character is invariably spinous. Secondly, in water animals there is but short space of time 20for the perception of savours, and as the use of this sense is thus of short duration, shortened also is the separate part which subserves it. The reason for their food being so rapidly transmitted to the stomach is that they cannot possibly spend any time in sucking out the juices; for were they to attempt to do so, the water would make its way in during the process. Unless therefore one pulls their mouth very 25widely open, the projection of this part is quite invisible. The region exposed by thus opening the mouth is spinous; for it is formed by the close apposition of the gills, which are of a spinous character.
In crocodiles the immobility of the lower jaw also contributes in some measure to stunt the development of the tongue. For the crocodile's tongue is adherent to the lower jaw. For its upper and lower jaws 30are, as it were, inverted, it being the upper jaw which in other animals is the immovable one. The tongue, however, on this animal is not attached to the upper jaw, because that would interfere with the ingestion of food, but adheres to the lower jaw, because this is, as it were, the upper one which has changed its place. Moreover, it is the crocodile's lot, though a land animal, to live the life of a fish, 35and this again necessarily involves an indistinct formation of the part in question.
661a
1 τοῖς μὴ σκοποῦσιν ἀκριβῶς γλῶτταν ἔχειν ταύτῃ. Οἱ δ'
ἰχθύες διὰ τὴν εἰρημένην αἰτίαν ἔχουσι μέν, οὐ σαφῆ δ' ἔχουσι
τὴν διάρθρωσιν τῆς γλώττης. Ἐπεὶ δὲ τῆς τροφῆς χάριν τῆς
ἐν τοῖς χυμοῖς ἐστιν εἰς αἴσθησιν μὲν τὸ γλωττοειδὲς
5 μόριον, οὐ πάντῃ δ' ὁμοίως ἀλλὰ τῷ ἄκρῳ μάλιστα, διὰ
τοῦτο τοῖς ἰχθύσι τοῦτ' ἀφώρισται μόνον. Ἐπιθυμίαν δ' ἔχει
τροφῆς τὰ ζῷα πάντα ὡς ἔχοντα αἴσθησιν τῆς ἡδονῆς τῆς
γινομένης ἐκ τῆς τροφῆς· ἡ γὰρ ἐπιθυμία τοῦ ἡδέος ἐστίν.
Ἀλλὰ τὸ μόριον οὐχ ὅμοιον τοῦτο πᾶσιν, ᾧ τὴν αἴσθησιν ποιοῦνται
10 τῆς τροφῆς, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν ἀπολελυμένον τοῖς δὲ
προσπεφυκός, ὅσοις μηδὲν ἔργον ὑπάρχει φωνῆς, καὶ τοῖς
μὲν σκληρὸν τοῖς δὲ μαλακὸν ἢ σαρκῶδες. Διὸ καὶ τοῖς
μαλακοστράκοις, οἷον καράβοις καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις, ἐντὸς ὑπάρχει
τι τοῦ στόματος τοιοῦτον, καὶ τοῖς μαλακίοις, οἷον σηπίαις
15 καὶ πολύποσιν. Τῶν δ' ἐντόμων ζῴων ἔνια μὲν ἐντὸς
ἔχει τὸ τοιοῦτον μόριον, οἷον τὸ τῶν μυρμήκων γένος, ὡςαύτως
δὲ καὶ τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων πολλά· τὰ δ' ἐκτός, οἷον
κέντρον, σομφὸν δὲ τὴν φύσιν καὶ κοῖλον, ὥσθ' ἅμα τούτῳ
καὶ γεύεσθαι καὶ τὴν τροφὴν ἀνασπᾶν. Δῆλον δὲ τοῦτο ἐπί
20 τε μυιῶν καὶ μελιττῶν καὶ πάντων τῶν τοιούτων, ἔτι δ' ἐπ'
ἐνίων τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων· ταῖς γὰρ πορφύραις τοσαύτην ἔχει
δύναμιν τοῦτο τὸ μόριον ὥστε καὶ τῶν κογχυλίων διατρυπῶσι
τὸ ὄστρακον, οἷον τῶν στρόμβων οἷς δελεάζουσιν αὐτάς. Ἔτι δ'
οἵ τε οἶστροι καὶ οἱ μύωπες οἱ μὲν τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ δὲ
25 καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων δέρματα διαιροῦσιν. Ἐν μὲν οὖν τούτοις
τοῖς ζῴοις ἡ γλῶττα τοιαύτη τὴν φύσιν ἐστίν, ὥσπερ
ἀντιστρόφως ἔχουσα τῷ μυκτῆρι τῷ τῶν ἐλεφάντων· καὶ
γὰρ ἐκείνοις πρὸς βοήθειαν ὁ μυκτήρ, καὶ τούτοις ἡ γλῶττα
ἀντὶ κέντρου ἐστίν. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων ἡ γλῶττα πάντων
30 ἐστὶν οἵανπερ εἴπομεν.
1The roof of the mouth resembles flesh, even in many of the fishes; and in some of the river species, as for instance in the fishes known as Cyprini, is so very flesh-like and soft as to be taken by careless observers for a tongue. The tongue of fishes, however, though it exists as a separate part, is never formed with such 5distinctness as this, as has been already explained. Again, as the gustatory sensibility is intended to serve animals in the selection of food, it is not diffused equally over the whole surface of the tongue-like organ, but is placed chiefly in the tip; and for this reason it is the tip which is the only part of the tongue separated in fishes from the rest of the mouth. As all animals are sensible to the 10pleasure derivable from food, they all feel a desire for it. For the object of desire is the pleasant. The part, however, by which food produces the sensation is not precisely alike in all of them, but while in some it is free from attachments, in others, where it is not required for vocal purposes, it is adherent. In some again it is hard, in others soft or flesh-like. Thus even the Crustacea, the Carabi 15for instance and the like, and the Cephalopods, such as the Sepias and the Poulps, have some such part inside the mouth. As for the Insects, some of them have the part which serves as tongue inside the mouth, as is the case with ants, and as is also the case with many Testacea, while in others it is placed externally. In this latter case it resembles a sting, and is hollow and spongy, so as to serve at 20one and the same time for the tasting and for the sucking up of nutriment. This is plainly to be seen in flies and bees and all such animals, and likewise in some of the Testacea. In the Purpurae, for instance, so strong is this part that it enables them to bore holes through the hard covering of shell-fish, of the spiral snails, for example, that are used as bait to catch them. So also the gad-flies and 25cattle-flies can pierce through the skin of man, and some of them even through the skins of other animals. Such, then, in these animals is the nature of the tongue, which is thus as it were the counterpart of the elephant's nostril. For as in the elephant the nostril is used as a weapon, so in these animals the tongue serves as a sting.
In all other animals the tongue agrees with description already given.
In all other animals the tongue agrees with description already given.