§20διὰ τίνʼ αἰτίαν τὸ τῶν ἀγρίων συῶν δάκρυον ἡδὺ τὸ δὲ τῶν ἐλάφων ἁλμυρόν ἐστι καὶ φαῦλον;
For what reason is the tear of wild boars sweet, but that of stags salty and unpleasant?
αἰτία δὲ θερμότης καὶ ψυχρότης τούτων, καὶ ψυχρὸν μὲν ὁ ἔλαφος περίθερμον δὲ καὶ πυρῶδες ὁ σῦς·
And the cause of these is heat and cold, and the stag is cold, while the boar is very hot and fiery.
ὅθεν τὸ μὲν φεύγει τὸ δʼ ἀμύνεται τοὺς ἐπιόντας, ὅτε καὶ μάλιστα διὰ τὸν θυμὸν ἐκβάλλει τὸ δάκρυον πολλῆς γὰρ ἐπὶ τὰ ὄμματα θερμότητος φερομένης, ὡς εἴρηται
"φρίξας εὖ λοφιήν, πῦρ ὀφθαλμοῖσι δεδορκώς· "
γλυκὺ γίγνεται τὸ ἀποτηκόμενον.
Whence the former flees, while the latter defends itself against those who attack, at which time also it especially sheds tears because of its anger; for since much heat is carried to the eyes, as it has been said, "bristling well his crest, with fire flashing from his eyes," that which is melted down becomes sweet.
ἔνιοι δέ φασιν, ὥσπερ γάλακτος ὀρρόν, τοῦ αἵματος ταραχθέντος, ἐκκρούεσθαι τὸ δάκρυον, ὡς Ἐμπεδοκλῆς.
But some say, as Empedocles does, that when the blood is disturbed, the tear is squeezed out just like the whey of milk.
ἐπεὶ τοίνυν τραχὺ καὶ μέλαν τὸ τῶν κάπρων αἷμα διὰ θερμότητα λεπτὸν δὲ καὶ ὑδαρὲς τὸ τῶν ἐλάφων, εἰκότως καὶ τὸ ἀποκρινόμενον ἐν τοῖς θυμοῖς καὶ τοῖς φόβοις ἑκατέρου τοιοῦτον.
Since therefore the blood of wild boars is coarse and black because of heat, while that of stags is thin and watery, naturally that which is secreted during the anger and fear of each is of a corresponding nature.
§21διὰ τί τῶν ὑῶν αἱ μὲν ἥμεροι, πλεονάκις τίκτουσι καὶ κατʼ ἄλλον ἄλλαι χρόνον, αἱ δʼ ἄγριαι καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ περὶ τὰς αὐτὰς ἅπασαι σχεδὸν ἡμέρας;
Why is it that among swine, the tame ones give birth more frequently and at different times from one another, whereas the wild ones do so only once and nearly all around the same days?
αὗται δʼ εἰσὶν ἀρχομένου θέρους· διὸ καὶ λέλεκται
"μηκέτι νυκτὸς ὕειν, ᾗ κεν τέκῃ ἀγροτέρη σῦς. "
ἦ διὰ πλῆθος τροφῆς, ὄντως
ἐν πλησμονῇ Κύπρις;
And these days are at the beginning of summer; wherefore also it has been said: "No longer does it rain by night, when the wild sow brings forth." Is it because of the abundance of food, so that truly "Cypris is in fullness"?
ἀφθονία γὰρ τροφῆς τὸ γόνιμον περίττωμα ποιεῖ καὶ φυτοῖς καὶ ζῴοις· αἱ μὲν οὖν ἄγριαι διʼ αὑτῶν καὶ μετὰ φόβου τὴν τροφὴν ζητοῦσι, ταῖς δʼ ἡμέροις ὑπάρχει διὰ παντὸς ἡ μὲν αὐτοφυὴς ἡ δʼ ἐκ παρασκευῆς.
For abundance of food produces the generative residue both in plants and in animals; now the wild ones seek food by themselves and with fear, whereas for the tame ones, there is always available either what grows of itself or what is prepared.
ἢ τὸ τῆς σχολῆς καὶ ἀσχολίας ἅμα συμβαῖνον αἴτιον;
Or is the simultaneous occurrence of leisure and lack of leisure the cause?
αἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀργοῦσι, μὴ βουλόμεναι πόρρω πλανᾶσθαι τῶν συφορβῶν, αἱ δʼ ὀρειβατοῦσαι καὶ περιθέουσαι τὴν τροφὴν διαφοροῦσι καὶ καταναλίσκουσιν εἰς τὸ σῶμα πᾶσαν· ὥστε διὰ τὸ ἀεὶ συνεῖναι ἢ μὴ γίνεσθαι περίττωμα, ἢ καὶ τὸ συντρέφεσθαι καὶ συναγελάζεσθαι τὰ θήλεα τοῖς ἄρρεσιν, ἀνάμνησιν ποιεῖ τῶν ἀφροδισίων καὶ συνεκκαλεῖται τὴν ὄρεξιν ὡς ἐπʼ ἀνθρώπων Ἐμπεδοκλῆς ἐποίησε
"τῷ δέ τι καὶ πόθος εἴτε διὰ πέψεως ἀμμίσγων· "
ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἀγρίοις, ἀποτρόφοις οὖσιν ἀλλήλων, τὸ ἄστοργον καὶ δυσεπίμικτον ἀμβλύνει καὶ ἀνασβέννυσι τὰς ὁρμάς.
For the former are idle, not wishing to wander far from the swineherds, while the latter, climbing mountains and running about, disperse their food and consume it entirely into their body; so that, either through [the former] always being together, or through [the latter] having no residue produced, or also because the females being reared and herded together with the males produces a recollection of sexual union and calls forth desire, just as Empedocles wrote concerning humans: "And in him also some desire, mixing either through digestion..." But among the wild ones, since they are reared apart from one another, their lack of affection and difficulty of mixing blunts and extinguishes their impulses.
ἢ καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον ὑπʼ Ἀριστοτέλους ἀληθές ἐστιν, ὅτι
χλούνην
Ὅμηρος ὠνόμασε σῦν τὸν μόνορχιν;
Or is that indeed true which is said by Aristotle, namely that Homer called the single-testicled boar "chloones"?
τῶν γὰρ πλείστων φησὶ προσκνωμένων τοῖς στελέχεσι θρύπτεσθαι τοὺς ὄρχεις.
For he says that, since most of them rub themselves against the tree trunks, their testicles are crushed.
§22διὰ τί τῆς ἄρκτου φασὶ τὴν χεῖρα γλυκυτάτην ἔχειν σάρκα καὶ φαγεῖν ἡδίστην;
Why do they say that the hand of the bear has the sweetest flesh and is the most delicious to eat?
ἦ ὅτι τὰ πέττοντα τὴν τροφὴν μάλιστα τοῦ σώματος παρέχει τὸ κρέας ἥδιστον;
Is it because those parts of the body which digest the food best provide the most delicious meat?
πέττει δὲ κάλλιστα τὸ διαπνέον, κινούμενον μάλιστα καὶ συγγυμναζόμενον, ὥσπερ ἡ ἄρκτος τῷ μέρει τούτῳ πλεῖστα κινεῖται· καὶ γὰρ ὡς ποσὶ τοῖς ἐμπροσθίοις βαδίζουσα χρῆται καὶ τρέχουσα καὶ ὡς χερσὶν ἀντιλαμβανομένη.
And that part digests best which transpires, being moved and exercised most, just as the bear moves this part the most; for indeed, it uses them as front feet when walking and running, and as hands when grasping things.
§23διὰ τί δυστίβευτος ἡ τοῦ ἔαρος ὥρα;
Why is the season of spring difficult for tracking?
πότερον αἱ κύνες, ὥς φησιν Ἐμπεδοκλῆς,
"κέμματα θηρείων μελέων μυκτῆρσιν ἐρευνῶσαι"
τὰς ἀπορροὰς ἀναλαμβάνουσιν, ἃς ἐναπολείπει τὰ θηρία τῇ ὕλῃ, ταύτας δὲ τοῦ ἔαρος ἐξαμαυροῦσι καὶ συγχέουσιν αἱ πλεῖσται τῶν φυτῶν καὶ τῶν ὑλημάτων ὀσμαί, ὑπὲρ τὴν ἄνθησιν ὑπερχεόμεναι καὶ κεραννύμεναι, περιποτῶσι καὶ διαπλανῶσι τὰς κύνας τῆς τῶν θηρίων ὀσμῆς ἐπιλαβέσθαι;
Is it that, while dogs—as Empedocles says, "searching out with their nostrils the fragments of wild beasts' limbs" take up the effluences which the wild beasts leave behind in the woods, most of the odors of plants and underwood in spring, overflowing and mixing together during the blossoming, obscure and confound these, and by hovering around, lead the dogs astray from catching the scent of the wild beasts?
διὸ περὶ τὴν Αἴτνην ἐν Σικελίᾳ φασὶ μηδένα κυνηγεῖν· πολὺ γὰρ ἀναφύεσθαι καὶ τεθηλέναι διʼ ἔτους ἴον ὀρεινὸν ἐν τοῖς λειμῶσι, καὶ τὸν τόπον εὐωδίαν ἀεὶ κατέχουσαν ἁρπάζειν τὰς τῶν θηρίων ἀναπνοάς.
Wherefore they say that no one hunts around Etna in Sicily; for mountain violets grow and flourish abundantly in the meadows throughout the year, and the fragrance that always occupies the place snatches away the scents of the wild beasts.
λέγεται δὲ μῦθος, ὡς τὴν Κόρην ἐκεῖθεν ἀνθολογοῦσαν ὁ Πλούτων ἀφαρπάσειε, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τιμῶντες καὶ σεβόμενοι τὸ χωρίον ὡς ἄσυλον οὐκ ἐπιτίθενται τοῖς ἐκεῖ νεμομένοις.
And a myth is told that Pluto snatched away Kore from that place as she was gathering flowers, and for this reason, honoring and revering the place as a sanctuary, they do not attack the animals grazing there.