§6.19Φανερὸν δὲ τοῦτο ἐστὶ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν λευκῶν.
And this is manifest also in the case of white ones.
Ἔνια μὲν γὰρ εὐθὺς ἴσχει τὸ χρῶμα λευκότατον, ὅσα καὶ τούτων πλείστην ἔχει κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς τροφήν, καὶ μὴ πρὸ ὥρας ἐν αὐτῇ καταξηραίνεται τὸ ὑγρόν· προϊούσης δὲ τῆς ἡλικίας ξανθά, τροφῆς αὐτοῖς ἐλάττονος ὕστερον ἐπιρρεούσης.
For some of them possess the whitest color straight from the start, namely all of those which receive the most nourishment at the beginning, and in which the moisture is not dried up before its time; but as age advances, they become yellow, because less nourishment later flows into them.
§6.20Τὰ δὲ ἐν ἀρχῇ μὲν γίνεται ξανθά, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἀκμὴν λευκότατα, καθάπερ καὶ τῶν ὀρνίθων μεταβάλλουσι τὰ χρώματα πάλιν τῆς τροφῆς ἐν αὐτοῖς ὑπολειπούσης.
Others become yellow at the beginning, but whitest at their prime, just as the colors of birds also change when the nourishment in them again fails.
Δηλοῖ δέ· πάντα γὰρ αὐτὰ γίνεται ξανθὰ καὶ περὶ τὸν τράχηλον, καὶ ὅλως ὅσα σπανίζει τροφῆς τῆς ἐν αὐτοῖς ὑπολειπούσης.
And this is shown: for all of them become yellow also around the neck, and in general all those parts which lack nourishment, as it fails in them.
§6.21Δῆλον δέ· ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ τὸ πυρρὸν εἰς τὸ μέλαν μεταβάλλει καὶ τὸ μέλαν πάλιν εἰς τὸ πυρρόν, οὕτω καὶ τὸ λευκὸν εἰς τὸ ξανθόν.
And this is clear; for just as the reddish changes into black, and the black again into reddish, so also the white changes into yellow.
Συμβαίνει δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν φυτῶν· ἔνια γὰρ ἐκ τῆς ὑστέρας πέψεως ἀνατρέχει πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν προτέραν.
And this happens also in the case of plants; for some revert from the later ripening back to the former.
Μάλιστα δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ῥοιᾶς φανερόν ἐστιν.
And this is especially manifest in the case of the pomegranate.
§6.22Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς οἱ κόκκοι γίνονται φοινικοῖ, καὶ τὰ φύλλα, δι᾽ ὀλιγότητα τῆς τροφῆς ἐκπεττομένης· ὕστερον δὲ πάλιν μεταβάλλουσιν εἰς τὸ ποῶδες χρῶμα, πολλῆς τροφῆς ἐπιρρεούσης καὶ τῆς πέψεως οὐχ ὁμοίως δυναμένης κρατεῖν· τὸ τελευταῖον δὲ πεττομένης ἤδη τῆς τροφῆς πάλιν γίνεται τὸ χρῶμα φοινικιοῦν.
For at the beginning the seeds and the leaves become crimson because the nourishment, being scarce, is ripened; but later they change back into the grass-green color, because much nourishment flows in and the ripening is unable to master it in like manner; and finally, as the nourishment is now ripened, the color becomes crimson again.
§6.23Καθόλου δὲ εἰπεῖν καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων τριχωμάτων καὶ πτερωμάτων, ἅπαντα λαμβάνει τὰς μεταβολάς, οἶς μέν, καθάπερ εἴρηται, τῆς τροφῆς ἐν αὐτοῖς ὑπολειπούσης, οἶς δὲ τοὐναντίον πλεοναζούσης.
To speak generally also about other hair and feathers, all undergo changes, in some cases, as has been said, because the nourishment in them fails, but in others, on the contrary, because it superabounds.
§6.24Διόπερ ἄλλα κατ᾽ ἄλλους χρόνους τῆς ἡλικίας καὶ λευκότατα καὶ μελάντατα γίνεται τῶν τριχωμάτων, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν κοράκων τὰ πτερώματα τὸ τελευταῖον εἰς τὸ ξανθὸν χρῶμα μεταβάλλει, τῆς τροφῆς ἐν αὐτοῖς ὑπολειπούσης.
Therefore, some hairs become both whitest and blackest at different periods of age, since even the feathers of crows finally change into a yellow color, as the nourishment in them fails.
§6.25Τῶν δὲ τριχωμάτων οὐδὲν οὔτε φοινικιοῦν οὔθ᾽ ἁλουργὲς οὔτε πράσινον οὔτε ἄλλην οὐδεμίαν ἔχον τοιαύτην γίνεται χρόαν, διὰ τὸ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα χρώματα γίνεσθαι μιγνυμένων αὐτοῖς τῶν τοῦ ἡλίου αὐγῶν, ἔτι δὲ τῶν τριχωμάτων ἁπάντων τῶν ὑγρῶν ἐντὸς τῆς σαρκὸς συμβαίνειν τὰς μεταβολάς, καὶ μηδεμίαν αὐτὰ λαμβάνειν μίξιν.
But of hairs, none becomes crimson, purple, green, or any other such color, because all such colors arise when the rays of the sun mix with them, and furthermore, because the changes of all the moisture of hairs happen inside the flesh, and they receive no such mixture.
§6.26Δῆλον δ᾽ ἐστίν· καὶ γὰρ τῶν πτερωμάτων τὸ μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς οὐδὲν γίνεται τῷ χρώματι τοιοῦτον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ποικίλα τῶν ὀρνέων πάνθ᾽ ὡς εἰπεῖν μέλανα, οἶον ὅ τε ταὼς καὶ ἡ περιστερὰ καὶ ἡ χελιδών· ὕστερον δὲ λαμβάνει πάσας τὰς τοιαύτας ποικιλίας, ἤδη τῆς πέψεως αὐτῶν ἔξω τοῦ σώματος γιγνομένης, ἔν τε τοῖς πτερώμασι καὶ τοῖς καλαίοις· ὥστε συμβαίνει, καθάπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν φυτῶν, καὶ τούτων ἔξω τοῦ σώματος γίγνεσθαι τὴν τῶν χρωμάτων πέψιν.
And this is clear; for indeed of feathers, none is of such a color at the beginning, but almost all variegated birds are black, as for instance the peacock, the dove, and the swallow; but later they receive all such variegated colors, since their ripening already takes place outside the body, both in the feathers and in the quills; so that it happens, just as in the case of plants, that the ripening of their colors also takes place outside the body.
§6.27Διὸ καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν ζῴων, τά τ᾽ ἔνυδρα καὶ τὰ ἑρπετὰ καὶ τὰ κογχύλια, παντοδαπὰς ἴσχει χρωμάτων μορφάς, πολλῆς καὶ τούτοις τῆς πέψεως γινομένης.
Therefore also the rest of the animals, namely water animals, reptiles, and shellfish, possess all kinds of color-forms, because in these also much ripening takes place.
Τὴν μὲν οὖν περὶ τὰ χρώματα θεωρίαν μάλιστ᾽ ἄν τις ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων δύναιτο συνιδεῖν.
Thus, one would best be able to understand the investigation concerning colors from the things that have been said.