§16διὰ τί λέγεται
"σῖτον ἐν πηλῷ φύτευε, τὴν δὲ κριθὴν ἐν κόνει;
Why is it said: "Plant wheat in mud, but barley in dust"?
"
πότερον, ὡς εἰρήκαμεν, ὁ μὲν δύναται πλείονος τροφῆς κατακρατεῖν ἡ δʼ οὐ φέρει τὸ πολὺ καὶ κατακλύζον, ἢ πυκνὸς ὢν ὁ πυρὸς καὶ ξυλώδης φύεται βέλτιον ἐν ὑγρῷ μαλαττόμενος καὶ χυλούμενος, τῇ δὲ κριθῇ διὰ μανότητα σύμφορον ἐν ἀρχῇ τὸ ξηρότερον, ἢ διὰ θερμότητα σύμμετρος καὶ ἀβλαβὴς; ἡ κρᾶσις ψυχρότερον δʼ ἡ κριθή·
Is it, as we have said, that the former is able to master more nourishment, while the latter does not bear what is much and overwhelming, or, wheat being dense and woody, grows better when softened and liquefied in moisture, whereas for barley because of its porousness, the drier state is beneficial at the beginning, or, because of its heat, the mixture (temperament) [of wheat] is moderate and harmless, while barley is colder?
ἢ φοβοῦνται τὸν πυρὸν ἐν ξηρῷ τρίβειν διὰ τοὺς μύρμηκας, εὐθὺς γὰρ ἐπιτίθενται, εἰς δὲ κριθὰς ἧττον φέρονται, δυσβάστακτοι γάρ εἰσι καὶ δυσπαρακόμιστοι διὰ μέγεθος;
Or, do they fear to sow wheat in dry soil because of the ants, for they immediately attack it, but they go less to barley, as it is difficult to carry and hard to transport due to its size?
§17διὰ τί τῶν ἀρρένων ἵππων μᾶλλον ἢ τῶν θηλειῶν τὰς τρίχας εἰς τὴν ὁρμιὰν λαμβάνουσι;
Why do they take the hairs of male horses rather than of females for the fishing line?
πότερον, ὡς τοῖς ἄλλοις τὸ ἄρρεν τοῦ θήλεος μέρεσι, καὶ ταῖς θριξὶν εὐτονώτερόν ἐστιν·
Is it that, just as in other parts, the male is stronger than the female, so it is also in its hairs?
ἢ μᾶλλον διὰ τὸ οὖρον οἴονται τὰς τρίχας τῶν θηλειῶν βρεχομένας γίγνεσθαι χείρονας;
Or rather, is it because they think that the hairs of females, being soaked by their urine, become worse?
§18διὰ τί τευθὶς φαινομένη σημεῖόν ἐστι μεγάλου χειμῶνος;
Why is the appearance of a squid a sign of a great storm?
ἦ πάντα φύσει τὰ μαλάκια δύσριγα διὰ γυμνότητα τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ ψιλότητα, μήτʼ ὀστράκῳ μήτε δέρματι μήτε λεπίδι σκεπομένης ἀλλʼ ἐντὸς ἐχούσης τὸ σκληρὸν καὶ ὀστεῶδες, διὸ καὶ κέκληται μαλάκια;
Is it because all mollusks are naturally sensitive to cold due to the nakedness and exposure of their flesh, which is covered neither by shell nor skin nor scale, but has its hard and bony part inside, wherefore also they are called "mollusks"?
ταχὺ δὴ προαισθάνεται διʼ εὐπάθειαν τοῦ χειμῶνος·
So, due to their susceptibility, they quickly perceive the storm beforehand.
ὅθεν ὁ μὲν πολύπους εἰς γῆν ἀνατρέχει καὶ τῶν πετριδίων ἀντιλαμβανόμενος σημεῖόν ἐστι πνεύματος ὅσον οὔπω παρόντος, ἡ δὲ τευθὶς ἐξάλλεται, φεύγουσα τὸ ψῦχος καὶ τὴν ἐν βάθει ταραχὴν τῆς θαλάττης· καὶ γὰρ ἔχει μάλιστα τῶν μαλακίων εὔθρυπτον καὶ ἁπαλὸν τὸ σαρκῶδες.
Whence the octopus runs up to the land and, by clinging to small stones, is a sign of a wind that is all but present; while the squid leaps out, fleeing the cold and the disturbance in the depth of the sea; for indeed, of all mollusks, it has the most fragile and tender flesh.
§19διὰ τί τὴν χρόαν ὁ πολύπους ἐξαλλάττει;
Why does the octopus change its color?
πότερον, ὡς Θεόφραστος ᾤετο, δειλόν ἐστι φύσει ζῷον ὅταν οὖν ταραχθῇ τρεπόμενον τῷ πνεύματι, συμμεταβάλλει τὸ χρῶμα καθάπερ ἄνθρωπος·
Is it, as Theophrastus thought, that it is by nature a cowardly animal; when therefore it is disturbed and turned by its breath, it changes its color along with it, just as a human does?
διὸ καὶ λέλεκται
"τοῦ μὲν γάρ τε κακοῦ τρέπεται χρώς· "
ἢ τοῦτο πρὸς τὴν μεταβολὴν πιθανῶς λέλεκται πρὸς δὲ τὴν ἐξομοίωσιν οὐχ ἱκανῶς;
Wherefore also it has been said: "For the color of the coward changes"; or is this indeed plausibly said with respect to the change, but not sufficiently with respect to the assimilation?
μεταβάλλει γὰρ οὕτως, ὥστε τὴν χρόαν αἷς ἂν πλησιάζῃ πέτραις ὁμοιοῦν·
For it changes in such a way as to make its color like to whatever rocks it approaches.
πρὸς ὃ καὶ Πίνδαρος ἐποίησε
"
ποντίου θηρὸς χρωτὶ μάλιστα νόον
προσφέρων πάσαις πολίεσσιν ὁμίλει
"
καὶ Θέογνις
"
πουλύποδος νόον ἴσχε πολυχρόου, ὃς ποτὶ πέτρῃ,
τῇ προσομιλήσῃ, τοῖος· ἰδεῖν ἐφάνη. "
τοῦτο δὴ καὶ τοὺς πανουργίᾳ καὶ δεινότητι ὑπερφέροντας ἔχειν τὸ ἐπιτήδευμα λέγουσιν, ὡς ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαθεῖν καὶ διαφυγεῖν τοὺς πλησίον ἑαυτοὺς ἀεὶ ἀπεικάζειν πολύποδι.
With respect to which Pindar also wrote: "Bringing your mind most of all to the skin of the marine beast, associate with all cities." And Theognis: "Hold the mind of the many-colored octopus, which on the rock with which it associates, appears to the sight to be of such a kind." Indeed, they say that those who excel in cunning and cleverness also have this practice, always assimilating themselves to an octopus for the sake of escaping notice and eluding their neighbors.
ἢ καθάπερ ἐσθῆτι τῇ χρόᾳ νομίζουσι χρῆσθαι, ῥᾳδίως οὕτως ᾗ βούλεται μετενδυόμενον;
Or do they think that it uses its color like a garment, changing into it easily as it wishes?
ἆρʼ οὖν τὴν μὲν ἀρχὴν αὐτὸς ἐνδίδωσι τοῦ πάθους δείσας, τὰ δὲ κύρια τῆς αἰτίας ἐν ἄλλοις ἐστί;
Is it then that the octopus himself provides the beginning of the affection out of fear, but the main causes lie in other things?
σκόπει δή, κατʼ Ἐμπεδοκλέα
"γνοὺς ὅτι πάντων εἰσὶν ἀπορροαὶ ὅσσʼ ἐγένοντο· "
οὐ γὰρ ζῴων μόνον οὐδὲ φυτῶν οὐδὲ γῆς καὶ θαλάττης, ἀλλὰ καὶ λίθων ἄπεισιν ἐνδελεχῶς πολλὰ ῥεύματα καὶ χαλκοῦ καὶ σιδήρου· καὶ γὰρ φθείρεται πάντα καὶ ὄδωδε τῷ ῥεῖν ἀεί τι καὶ φέρεσθαι συνεχῶς· καὶ γὰρ ἕλξεις ἢ ἐπιπηδήσεις ποιοῦσι ταῖς ἀπορροαῖς, οἱ μὲν ἐμπλοκὰς αὐτῶν οἱ δὲ πληγὰς οἱ δʼ ὤσεις τινὰς καὶ περιελάσεις ὑποτιθέμενοι.
Consider then, according to Empedocles: "Knowing that there are effluences from all things that have come to be"; for not only from animals, nor plants, nor earth and sea, but also from stones and bronze and iron many streams continually depart; for indeed all things wear away and smell by something always flowing and continuously being carried off; for indeed they cause attractions or repulsions by these effluences, some supposing entanglements of them, others impacts, and others certain thrustings and rotations.
μάλιστα δὲ τῶν παράλων πετρῶν ἐπιρραινομένων καὶ ψηχομένων ὑπὸ τῆς θαλάττης, ἀπιέναι μέρη καὶ θραύσματα πολλὰ καὶ λεπτὰ εἰκὸς συνεχῶς, ἃ τοῖς χρώμασιν ἀλλήλων διαφέροντα τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις οὐ προσίσχεται σώμασιν ἀλλὰ λανθάνει περιολισθάνοντα τῶν πυκνοτέρους ἐχόντων πόρους ἢ διεκθέοντα τῶν μανοτέρους.
And especially when the coastal rocks are splashed and rubbed by the sea, it is natural that many small and fine parts and fragments continually depart, which, differing from one another in colors, do not cling to other bodies, but escape notice by slipping off those that have denser pores, or by running through those that have more porous ones.
ὁ δὲ πολύπους τήν τε σάρκα προσιδεῖν αὐτόθεν ἀνθρηνιώδης καὶ πολύπορος καὶ δεκτικὸς ἀπορροῶν ἐστιν· ὅταν δὲ δείσῃ, τῷ πνεύματι τρεπόμενος καὶ τρέπων οἷον ἔσφιγξε τὸ σῶμα καὶ συνήγαγεν, ὥστε προσδέχεσθαι καὶ στέγειν ἐπιπολῆς τὰς τῶν ἐγγὺς ἀπορροάς· καὶ γὰρ ἡ τραχύτης μετὰ τῆς μαλακότητος ἕλικας παρέχουσα τοῖς ἐπιφερομένοις μέρεσι μὴ σκεδαννυμένοις ἀλλʼ ἀθροιζομένοις καὶ προσμένουσι, σύγχρουν ἀπεργάζεται τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τοῖς ἐγγύτατʼ οὖσιν.
But the octopus, to look at its flesh directly, is like a wasp's nest and very porous, and receptive to effluences; and when it is afraid, being turned and turning itself by its breath, it as it were tightens and contracts its body, so as to receive and retain on its surface the effluences of nearby things; for indeed its roughness, together with its softness, providing twists for the incoming particles so that they are not scattered but gather and remain, renders its surface identical in color with the nearest things.
τεκμήριον δὲ τῆς αἰτίας μέγα τὸ μήτε τοῦτον πᾶσιν ἐξομοιοῦσθαι τοῖς πλησίον μήτε τὸν χαμαιλέοντα τοῖς λευκοῖς χρώμασιν, ἀλλὰ μόνοις ἑκάτερον, ὧν ταῖς ἀπορροαῖς πόρους συμμέτρους ἔχουσιν.
And a great proof of this cause is that neither does this animal assimilate to all nearby things, nor does the chameleon to white colors, but each only to those things for whose effluences they possess corresponding pores.