§3Ἐπὶ δὲ τὸ λοιπὸν τῶν προτεθειμένων μεταβάντες ἐπιδείξομεν, ὡς οὐδ’ εἰ παρὰ τῆς καρδίας θλιβούσης ἐπιπέμποιτο τὸ πνεῦμα ταῖς ἀρτηρίαις, πιθανὸν οὐδ’ αὐτὸ οὕτως ἐστὶ τὸ τῆς παρεμπτώσεως δόγμα.
Moving on to the remainder of the proposed topics, we shall demonstrate that even if the pneuma were sent to the arteries by the contracting heart, the doctrine of transfusion itself is still not plausible in this way.
τί γὰρ καὶ βούλεται;
For what does it mean?
πότερον τὸ εἰς ἔσχατον πεφυκέναι συστέλλεσθαι τὰς ἀρτηρίας, ὥσπερ καὶ τὰς φλέβας, ἢ, ὅπερ ἀληθές ἐστι, μέχρι τινός;
Is it that the arteries are by nature contracted to the utmost, just like the veins, or, as is true, up to a certain point?
ἔστω τὸ πρότερον, τὸ εἰς ἔσχατον, ἵνα μηδὲν παραλείπηται.
Let it be the former, to the utmost, so that nothing is left out.
ἀλλ’ εἰ τοῦτο, μοχθηρὸς ὁ λόγος ἔσται καὶ ἀπέραντος παρὰ τὸ τῆς διαιρέσεως ἐλλειπές.
But if this is so, the argument will be faulty and inconclusive because of the deficiency in the division.
οὐκέτι γὰρ ἔξεστι λέγειν, κενουμένου τοῦ πνεύματος ἤτοι κενὸς ἔσται τόπος ἀθρόος, ἢ τὸ συνεχὲς ἀκολουθήσει.
For it is no longer permissible to say that, when the pneuma is emptied, either a void space will be created all at once, or what is continuous will follow.
ἀλλ’ ὑπομνήσωμεν αὐτὸν, ὡς καὶ τρίτον ἐστὶ παραλειπόμενον ἐν τῇ διαιρέσει, τὸ κενούμενον ἀγγεῖον συσταλήσεται, καὶ διὰ τοῦτ’ ἀπέραντος ὁ λόγος γενήσεται.
But let us remind him that there is also a third option omitted in the division, namely, that the vessel being emptied will contract, and for this reason the argument will become inconclusive.
παραληφθέντος γὰρ ἑνὸς λήμματος ἀληθοῦς, τοῦ, ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐ γίγνεται κενὸς ἀθρόος τόπος, οὐκέτ’ ἔξεστι λέγειν τὸ, ἄρα συνεχὲς ἀκολουθήσει. ἀλλὰ τί ποτ’ ἔσται τὸ συμπέρασμα;
For once one true premise is assumed—namely, 'but indeed, a void space is not created all at once'—it is no longer permissible to say, 'therefore, what is continuous will follow.' But what on earth will the conclusion be?
ἤτοι ἄρα τὸ συνεχὲς ἀκολουθήσει, ἢ τὸ ἀγγεῖον συσταλήσεται. οὕτως μὲν οὖν μοχθηρὸς ὁ τῆς παρεμπτώσεως ἐπιδειχθήσεται λόγος, εἰ τελέως ἡ ἀρτηρία συστέλλοιτο.
'Therefore, either what is continuous will follow, or the vessel will contract.' In this way, then, the argument of transfusion will be demonstrated to be faulty, if the artery were to contract completely.
εἰ δὲ μέχρι ποσοῦ τινος, ἐκεῖνος αὖθις ὁ λόγος ἀποδειχθήσεται μοχθηρὸς, ἐὰν τὸ κατὰ τοὺς ἁπαλοὺς καλάμους ἀναμνησθῶμεν φαινόμενον, οὓς ἐμφυσῶντες ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον αὐτοὺς διαστέλλομεν, ἐφ’ ὅσον πεφύκασιν.
But if it contracts up to a certain point, that argument in turn will be proved faulty, if we recall the phenomenon seen in soft reeds, which we dilate by blowing into them to the extent that they are naturally capable of.
εἶτ’ αὖθις ἐκκενοῦται κατὰ τὸ πέρας ὁ ἀὴρ τοσοῦτος, εἰς ὅσον ὁ κάλαμος πέφυκε συστέλλεσθαι.
Then again, through the end, so much air is emptied as the reed is naturally capable of contracting.
πλέον γὰρ ἂν ὁ κάλαμος οὔτ’ ἐκτείνοιτο φυσώντων, οὔτ’ αὖ συστέλλοιτο.
For the reed would neither be stretched further by those blowing, nor in turn contract any further.
ὅσον γὰρ ἐνεφυσήσαμεν, τοσοῦτ’ ἀναγκαῖον κενοῦσθαι μόνον· ὅσον δ’ ἔφθανεν ἀέρος περιέχεσθαι, καὶ πρὶν ἡμᾶς ἐμφυσῆσαι, τοῦθ’ ὑπομένειν ἀναγκαῖον.
For only as much as we blew in must of necessity be emptied; but as much air as happened to be contained even before we blew in, this must of necessity remain.
οὕτως οὖν ἔχει καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἀρτηρίας· περιέχεται μὲν γάρ τι πνεῦμα, καὶ συνεσταλμένων αὐτῶν, ἐπιπέμπεται δ’ ἕτερον ὑπὸ τῆς καρδίας πληρούσης, καὶ τοῦτο ἐπιπληροῖ μὲν αὐτῶν τὰς κοιλίας, παρ’ ὃν χρόνον ἐξέρχεται, καὶ τὴν διαστολὴν ἐργάζεται, κενουμένων δὲ συστέλλεσθαι πάλιν, εἰς ὅσον ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐπιτρέψει.
Thus it is also in the case of the arteries: for a certain amount of pneuma is contained even when they are contracted, and another amount is sent by the heart filling them, and this extra amount fills their cavities during the time it issues forth and produces the dilation, but when they are emptied, they contract again to the extent allowed from the beginning.
οὐκ οὖν οὐκέτι οὐδὲ κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν λόγον οὐδεμία τῆς τοῦ αἵματος παρεμπτώσεως ἀνάγκη.
Therefore, according to this argument too, there is no longer any necessity for the transfusion of blood.
τά τε γὰρ ἄλλα καὶ πολὺ σφοδρότερον διὰ τοῦ στόματος ἐμφυσῶμεν ἡμεῖς τοῖς καλάμοις ἢ ταῖς ἀρτηρίαις ἡ καρδία.
For among other things, we blow through the mouth into the reeds much more violently than the heart does into the arteries.
χρὴ δὲ δήπου τὸ σφοδρότερον ἐμφυσώμενον μᾶλλόν τε καὶ θᾶττον κενοῦσθαι.
And surely, that which is blown in more violently must be emptied more fully and more quickly.
ἀλλ’ ὅμως οὐδ’ εἰ τὸν κάλαμον αὐτὸν ἐπιστήσειέ τις κατὰ τῶν ἀνέμων ἁπάντων, οὐδ’ οὕτως ἔσται τις ἐν τοῖς καλάμοις τόπος κενὸς, ἀλλ’ ἀεὶ μὲν ὁδὸν ἕξει τὴν εὐρυχωρίαν τοῦ καλάμου τὸ διαῤῥέον πνεῦμα, κενωθήσεται δ’ οὐδέποθ’ οὕτως, ὡς δεηθῆναί τινος ἑτέρου σώματος ἀναπληροῦντος τὴν χώραν τοῦ κενωθέντος.
But nevertheless, even if one were to set the reed itself against all the winds, even so there will be no void space in the reeds, but the flowing pneuma will always have the wide capacity of the reed as its path, and it will never be emptied in such a way as to require some other body to fill the place of what has been emptied.