§2Καὶ τοίνυν τῆς ῥινὸς ἐχούσης μέσον διάφραγμα καὶ πόρους ἀξιολόγους δύο, τούτους δὴ τοὺς φαινομένους, ἕνα καθ’ ἑκάτερον μυκτῆρα, χρὴ γινώσκειν ἀνωτέρω τῶν μέσων τῆς ῥινὸς ἑκάτερον αὐτῶν δίχα σχιζόμενον.
Now, since the nose has a central septum and two notable passages, namely these visible ones, one for each nostril, it must be known that each of them splits in two above the middle of the nose.
ἥκει δὲ τῶν μερῶν τὸ μὲν ἕτερον εἰς τὸ τοῦ στόματος ἔνδον, τὸ δ’ ἕτερον ὄρθιον, ὡς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐφέρετο, πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀναβαίνει τὸν ἐγκέφαλον.
One of the parts comes into the inside of the mouth, while the other rises straight, as it was carried from the beginning, toward the brain itself.
εἰσὶ γὰρ αὐτῶν καὶ δύο κατὰ τοῦτο ἀποφύσεις προμήκεις τε καὶ κοῖλαι, τὴν ἀρχὴν μὲν ἐκ τῶν προσθίων ἔχουσαι κοιλιῶν, καθήκουσαι δὲ ἐπ’ ἐκεῖνο τοῦ κρανίου τὸ μέρος, ὅθεν ἡ ῥὶς ἄρχεται.
For there are also in them at this point two oblong and hollow outgrowths, having their origin from the anterior ventricles, and coming down to that part of the skull from which the nose begins.
κατὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ τῶν ἠθμοειδῶν ὀστῶν ἐστι θέσις, ὧν τὴν χρείαν ἱκανὸν ἐνδείξασθαι τοὔνομα, καὶ ἥ γε μήνιγξ ἡ παχεῖα, καθ’ ὃ ψαύει τῶνδε τῶν ὀστῶν, ὀπαῖς λεπταῖς τέτρηται.
At this point is also the position of the ethmoid bones, whose utility the name is sufficient to indicate, and the thick membrane (dura mater), where it touches these bones, is pierced with fine holes.
διὰ ταύτης γέ τοι πρώτης διηθεῖται τὰ παχύτερα τῶν τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου περιττῶν· (ἔθος δ’ ἐστὶν ἀπ’ Ἀριστοτέλους ἀρξάμενον ὀνομάζεσθαι τὰ τοιαῦτα πάντα περιττώματα· ) τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἀτμοειδέστερα κατὰ τὰς ῥαφὰς ἀναθεῖ, καὶ ταύτην κένωσιν.
Through this first, indeed, the coarser of the residues of the brain are filtered; (and it has been a custom, beginning from Aristotle, for all such things to be called residues;) for the more vaporous rise along the sutures, which is also an evacuation.
ὅσα δὲ τούτων παχέα, καθάπερ ἡ βλέννα καὶ ἡ κόρυζα, κατάντη φέρεται, πρώτην μὲν τὴν παχεῖαν μήνιγγα διεξερχόμενα, μετ’ ἐκείνην δὲ διὰ τῶν ἠθμοειδῶν ὀστῶν ἠθούμενα, κᾄπειθ’ οὕτως ἐμπίπτοντα τοῖς πόροις τῆς ῥινός.
But those of them that are coarse, like mucus and phlegm, are carried downward, first passing through the thick membrane, and after that being filtered through the ethmoid bones, and then in this way falling into the passages of the nose.
ἐν δὲ τῇ διὰ τούτων πορείᾳ μέρος ἔστιν ὅτε καταῤῥεῖ τῶν καταφερομένων εἰς τὸ στόμα διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων ἐκ τῆς ῥινὸς εἰς αὐτὸ συντρήσεων.
And in their course through these, a portion of the downward-carried matter sometimes flows down into the mouth through the aforementioned connections from the nose into it.
καὶ τάς γε παχυτέρας βλέννας, καὶ μάλισθ’ ὅσαι γλίσχραι, κατὰ μὲν τὸ ἕτερον αὐτῶν ἐνίοτε πέρας ἐμπεπτωκυίας ταῖς εἰς τὸ στόμα συντρήσεσιν, κατὰ δὲ τὸ ἕτερον ἐν τοῖς τῆς ῥινὸς οὖσι πόροις ἑκατέρων ἐκκενούμενον, ἐκφυσήσει μὲν βιαιοτέρᾳ χρησάμενον διὰ μυκτήρων, ἀναχρέμψει δὲ διὰ τοῦ στόματος.
And as for the coarser mucus, and especially that which is viscid, sometimes with one of its ends fallen into the connections into the mouth, and with the other in the passages of the nose, being emptied from both sides, [one] makes use of a more violent blowing through the nostrils, and of coughing up through the mouth.
ὑπαλείφει δ’ ἄναιμος χιτὼν, ὑμένος παχύτερος, αὐτούς τε τῆς ῥινὸς τοὺς εὐθεῖς πόρους, ἀναφερομένους ἄχρι τῶν ἠθμοειδῶν, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις τοὺς ἄλλους τοὺς λοξοὺς, οὓς εἰς τὸ στόμα τελευτᾷν ἔφην.
And a bloodless coat, thicker than a membrane, lines the straight passages themselves of the nose, which rise as far as the ethmoid bones, and in addition to these, the other oblique passages, which I said terminate in the mouth.
ἔστι δὲ συνεχὴς ὁ χιτὼν οὗτος καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ τὴν τοῦ στόματος ὅλου περιγραφὴν ἔνδοθεν ὑπαλείφοντι καὶ γλῶτταν ἀμφιεννύντι, καὶ πρός γε τούτοις φάρυγγά τε καὶ λάρυγγα καὶ τραχεῖαν ἀρτηρίαν καὶ στόμαχον.
And this coat is continuous with the very one lining the outline of the whole mouth from within and wrapping the tongue, and in addition to these, the pharynx, the larynx, the trachea, and the esophagus.
εἰς δὲ δὴ τὸν χιτῶνα τοῦτον, ἕνα μὲν ὑπάρχοντα καὶ συνεχῆ, καὶ τῷ τῆς οὐσίας εἴδει τὸν αὐτὸν ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς εἰρημένοις φαινόμενον, οὐ μὴν ἴσον γε τὸ πάχος ἐν ἅπασιν αὐτοῖς ἔχοντα, διασπείρεταί τινα τῶν ἐξ ἐγκεφάλου νεύρων μικρὰ, πλὴν τῶν εἰς τὴν γλῶτταν ἰόντων.
And indeed, into this coat, which is one and continuous, and appearing the same in all the mentioned parts in its kind of substance, yet not having equal thickness in all of them, some small nerves from the brain are dispersed, except for those going to the tongue.
ἱκανὸν ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνα πάχος, διότι περιττοτέρας αἰσθήσεως δεῖ τῳ μορίῳ τῷδε, γεύσεως αἰσθητικῷ γεγενημένῳ.
For those have sufficient thickness, because this part, having become sensory of taste, needs a more extraordinary perception.
ταῦτ’ ἄρα καὶ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἔτι παχύτερα τῶν εἰς τὴν γλῶτταν ἰόντων ἡ φύσις ἔνειμεν νεῦρα, καὶ μετ’ αὐτοὺς ὠσὶ καὶ στόματι κοιλίας, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τοῦτο αἰσθητικώτατον ὑπάρχειν ἐχρῆν, ὡς ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ δέδεικται λόγοις.
Therefore, indeed, nature assigned to the eyes nerves even thicker than those going to the tongue, and after them to the ears and to the mouth of the stomach, since this too had to be highly sensitive, as has been shown in the discussions concerning it.
ὀφθαλμὸς μὲν οὖν ὄργανον ὀπτικὸν, καὶ οὖς ἀκουστικὸν, καὶ γλῶττα γευστικὸν, ὀρέξεως δὲ σιτίων καὶ πομάτων ἡ γαστήρ ἐστιν ὄργανον, καὶ ταύτης μάλιστα τὸ στόμα.
Thus, the eye is the organ of sight, the ear of hearing, and the tongue of taste, while the stomach is the organ of appetite for food and drink, and especially its mouth.
παχυμερεστάτην δὲ εἰς διάγνωσιν ἡ φύσις ἐποίησεν τὴν ἁπτικὴν δύναμιν, οὐκ ἔτι μὴν ταύτην γε καθ’ ἓν ἀποκεκριμένην χωρίον, ὡς ἑκάστην τῶν εἰρημένων, ἀλλ’ εἰς ὅλον ἐκτεταμένην τὸ σῶμα.
But nature made the sense of touch the coarsest for discernment, yet not setting this apart in a single place like each of the aforementioned, but extending it to the whole body.
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ νεύρων αὐτῇ μικροτέρων ἔνειμεν πλῆθος, καὶ τούτων σκληρῶν, ἐκ νωτιαίου μυελοῦ τῶν πλείστων ἀρχομένων.
And for this reason, it assigned to it a multitude of smaller nerves, and these hard, most of them originating from the spinal cord.
εἰς δὲ τὰ προειρημένα μόρια, περιττοτέρας αἰσθήσεως δεόμενα, καὶ μείζω καὶ μαλακώτερα νεῦρα κατέφυσεν, ἐξ ἐγκεφάλου πάντα βλαστάνοντα.
On the other hand, into the aforementioned parts, which stand in need of more extraordinary perception, it implanted both larger and softer nerves, all budding from the brain.
φωτοειδέστατον μὲν οὖν ἐποίησεν τὸ τῆς ὄψεως ὄργανον, ὡς ἂν καὶ μόνον αὐγῆς καὶ φωτὸς αἰσθανόμενον, ἀερῶδες τὸ τῆς ἀκοῆς, αἰσθητικὸν ἐσόμενον καὶ τοῦτο τῶν κατὰ τὸν ἀέρα ψόφων.
Thus, it made the organ of sight most light-like, as being the only one to perceive brightness and light, and that of hearing air-like, this too being destined to perceive the sounds in the air.
οὕτω δὲ καὶ τὸ τῶν χυμῶν διαγνωστικὸν ὄργανον, τὴν γλῶτταν, ἐκ τῆς ὑγροτέρας ἰδέας τοῦ σώματος ἡ φύσις εἰργάσατο.
In this way also, nature fashioned the organ that discerns juices, the tongue, from the moister kind of body.
μεταξὺ δὲ ἀέρος τε καὶ ὑγροῦ καὶ πυρὸς τὸ τῆς ὀσφρήσεώς ἐστιν αἰσθητικὸν, οὔθ’ οὕτω λεπτομερὲς ὑπάρχον, ὡς ὁ ἀὴρ, οὔθ’ οὕτω παχυμερὲς, ὡς τὸ ὑγρόν.
But the sensory organ of smell is intermediate between air, moisture, and fire, being neither so fine-particled as air, nor so coarse-particled as moisture.
ὅσον γὰρ ἀποῤῥεῖ τῶν σωμάτων ἑκάστου, τοῦτ’ ἔστι τῶν ὀσφρητῶν ἡ οὐσία.
For whatever flows off from each of the bodies, this is the substance of the objects of smell.
μαθεῖν δ’ ἐστὶ μάλιστα ἐπὶ ῥόδων αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν οὕτως ἁπλῶν, ἃ διὰ ταχέων ἑαυτῶν ἐλάττω τε ἅμα καὶ ξηρότερα γίνεται, φανερῶς ἐνδεικνύμενα, τὴν ὑγροτέραν μοῖραν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῶν διαφορεῖσθαι.
And this can be learned especially from roses themselves and such simple things, which quickly become both smaller and drier, clearly showing that the moister portion is dispersed from their substance.