§1.1Ἐπεὶ δὲ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων μορίων εἴρηται τῶν ἐν τοῖς ζῴοις καὶ κοινῇ καὶ καθ’ ἕκαστον γένος περὶ τῶν ἰδίων χωρίς, τίνα τρόπον διὰ τὴν τοιαύτην αἰτίαν ἐστὶν ἕκαστον, λέγω δὲ ταύτην τὴν ἕνεκά του· ὑπόκεινται γὰρ αἰτίαι τέτταρες, τό τε οὗ ἕνεκα ὡς τέλος, καὶ ὁ λόγος τῆς οὐσίας. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὡς ἕν τι σχεδὸν ὑπολαβεῖν δεῖ, τρίτον δὲ καὶ τέταρτον ἡ ὕλη καὶ ὅθεν ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κινήσεως.
Since we have spoken of the other parts of animals, both in general and for each genus separately concerning its own peculiar parts, explaining in what way each exists owing to such a cause—I mean that which is for the sake of something (for four causes are assumed: that for the sake of which as an end, and the definition of the essence; these we must regard as virtually one; and thirdly and fourthly, the matter and the source of the beginning of motion).
περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἄλλων εἴρηται (ὅ τε γὰρ λόγος καὶ τὸ οὗ ἕνεκα ὡς τέλος ταὐτόν, καὶ ὕλη τοῖς ζῴοις τὰ μέρη, παντὶ μὲν τῷ ὅλῳ τὰ ἀνομοιομερῆ, τοῖς δ᾽ ἀνομοιομερέσι τὰ ὁμοιομερῆ, τούτοις δὲ τὰ καλούμενα στοιχεῖα τῶν σωμάτων), λοιπὸν δὲ τῶν μὲν μορίων τὰ πρὸς τὴν γένεσιν συντελοῦντα τοῖς ζῴοις, περὶ ὧν οὐθὲν διώρισται πρότερον, περὶ αἰτίας δὲ τῆς κινούσης, τίς αὕτη.
Now, we have spoken of the others (for the definition and that for the sake of which as an end are the same, and the matter for animals consists of their parts: for the whole, the non-uniform parts; for the non-uniform, the uniform parts; and for these, the so-called elements of bodies). There remains, therefore, of the parts, those that contribute to the generation of animals, concerning which nothing has been defined previously, and concerning the moving cause, what this is.
τὸ δὲ περὶ ταύτης σκοπεῖν καὶ τὸ περὶ τῆς γενέσεως τῆς ἑκάστου τρόπον τινὰ ταὐτόν ἐστιν· διόπερ ὁ λόγος εἰς ἓν συνήγαγε, τῶν μὲν περὶ τὰ μόρια τελευταῖα ταῦτα, τῶν δὲ περὶ γενέσεως τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐχομένην τούτων τάξας.
To investigate this and to investigate the generation of each are in a way the same thing; wherefore our discussion has brought them together into one, placing these parts last among those concerning the parts, and making them the beginning of the discussion on generation.
τῶν δὴ ζῴων τὰ μὲν ἐκ συνδυασμοῦ γίνεται θήλεος καὶ ἄρρενος, ἐν ὅσοις γένεσι τῶν ζῴων ἐστὶ τὸ θῆλυ καὶ τὸ ἄρρεν.
Now, of animals, some are generated from the union of male and female, in all those genera in which male and female exist.
οὐ γὰρ ἐν πᾶσίν ἐστιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἐναίμοις ἔξω ὀλίγων ἅπασι τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν τὸ δὲ θῆλυ τελειωθέν ἐστι, τῶν δ᾽ ἀναίμων τὰ μὲν ἔχει τὸ θῆλυ καὶ τὸ ἄρρεν, ὥστε τὰ ὁμογενῆ γεννᾶν, τὰ δὲ γεννᾷ μέν, οὐ μέντοι τά γε ὁμογενῆ· τοιαῦτα δ’ ἐστὶν ὅσα γίνεται μὴ ἐκ ζῴων συνδυαζο μένων, ἀλλ’ ἐκ γῆς σηπομένης καὶ περιττωμάτων.
For they do not exist in all; but while in blooded animals, with a few exceptions, all when mature are either male or female, among bloodless animals, some have male and female so that they generate their own kind, but others generate indeed, yet not their own kind; and such are all those that are generated not from the union of animals, but from putrefying earth and excrements.
ὡς δὲ κατὰ παντὸς εἰπεῖν, ὅσα μὲν κατὰ τόπον μεταβλητικὰ τῶν ζῴων ὄντα τὰ μὲν νευστικὰ τὰ δὲ πτηνὰ τὰ δὲ πεζευτικὰ τοῖς σώμασιν, ἐν ἐνίοις μὲν τούτων ἅπαν τὸ γένος ἔχει τὸ θῆλυ καὶ τὸ ἄρρεν, οὐ μόνον ἐν τοῖς ἐναίμοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἀναίμων ἔν τισιν.
To speak generally, of those animals that are capable of change of place, whether swimming, flying, or walking, in some of these the whole genus has male and female, not only among blooded animals but also in some bloodless ones.
καὶ τούτων τοῖς μὲν καθ’ ὅλον τὸ γένος, οἷον τοῖς μαλακίοις καὶ τοῖς μαλακοστράκοις· ἐν δὲ τῷ τῶν ἐντόμων γένει τὰ πλεῖστα.
And of these, in some it is throughout the whole genus, as in the cephalopods and the crustaceans, and in most of the genus of insects.
τούτων δ’ αὐτῶν ὅσα μὲν ἐκ συνδυασμοῦ γίνεται τῶν συγγενῶν ζῴῳν, καὶ αὐτὰ γεννᾷ κατὰ τὴν συγγένειαν· ὅσα δὲ μὴ ἐκ ζῴων ἀλλ’ ἐκ σηπομένης τῆς ὕλης, ταῦτα δὲ γεννᾷ μὲν ἕτερον δὲ γένος, καὶ τὸ γιγνόμενον οὔτε θῆλύ ἐστιν οὔτε ἄρρεν.
Of these themselves, those that are generated from the union of kindred animals themselves generate according to their kinship; but those that are generated not from animals but from putrefying matter generate indeed, but a different genus, and the product is neither male nor female.
τοιαῦτα δ’ ἐστὶν ἔνια τῶν ἐντόμων.
Such are some of the insects.
καὶ τοῦτο συμβέβηκεν εὐλόγως· εἰ γὰρ ὅσα μὴ γίγνεται ἐκ ζῴων, ἐκ τούτων ἐγίνετο ζῷα συνδυαζομένων, εἰ μὲν ὁμοιογενῆ, καὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοιαύτην ἔδει τῶν τεκνωσάντων εἶναι γένεσιν.
And this happens reasonably; for if those that are not generated from animals were to generate animals by union, if these were of the same kind, then the original generation of those that begot them ought also to have been of that kind.
τοῦτο δ’ εὐλόγως ἀξιοῦμεν· φαίνεται γὰρ συμβαῖνον οὕτως ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων.
This is a reasonable expectation, for it is seen to happen so in other animals.
εἰ δ’ ἀνόμοια μὲν δυνάμενα δὲ συνδυάζεσθαι, πάλιν ἐκ τούτων ἑτέρα τις ἂν ἐγίνετο φύσις, καὶ πάλιν ἄλλη τις ἐκ τούτων, καὶ τοῦτ’ ἐπορεύετ’ ἂν εἰς ἄπειρον.
But if they were unlike yet capable of uniting, then from these another nature would arise, and from these again another, and this would go on to infinity.
ἡ δὲ φύσις φεύγει τὸ ἄπειρον· τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἄπειρον ἀτελές, ἡ δὲ φύσις ἀεὶ ζητεῖ τέλος.
But nature flees from the infinite; for the infinite is incomplete, whereas nature always seeks an end.
ὅσα δὲ μὴ πορευτικά, καθάπερ τὰ ὀστρακόδερμα τῶν ζῴων καὶ τὰ ζῶντα τῷ προσπεφυκέναι, διὰ τὸ παραπλησίαν αὐτῶν εἶναι τὴν οὐσίαν τοῖς φυτοῖς, ὥσπερ οὐδ’ ἐν ἐκείνοις, οὐδ’ ἐν τούτοις ἐστι τὸ θῆλυ καὶ τὸ ἄρρεν, ἀλλ’ ἤδη καθ’ ὁμοιότητα καὶ κατ’ ἀναλογίαν λέγεται· μικρὰν γάρ τινα τοιαύτην ἔχει διαφοράν.
Those animals that are not locomotive, such as the testaceans and those that live by being attached, because their essence is close to that of plants, just as in plants, so also in these there is no male and female, but they are so called only by similarity and analogy, for they have some small difference of this kind.
καὶ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς φυτοῖς ὑπάρχει τὰ μὲν καρποφόρα δένδρα τοῦ αὐτοῦ γένος, τὰ δ’ αὐτὰ μὲν οὐ φέρει καρπόν, συμβάλλεται δὲ τοῖς φέρουσι πρὸς τὸ πέττειν, οἷον συμβαίνει περὶ τὴν συκῆν καὶ τὸν ἐρινεόν.
For even in plants there are in the same genus some trees that bear fruit, while others do not bear fruit themselves but contribute to the bearing of those that do, as happens in the case of the fig-tree and the caprifig.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν φυτῶν τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον· τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ σπέρματος γίνεται, τὰ δ’ ὥσπερ αὐτοματιζούσης τῆς φύσεως.
And it is the same way in plants; for some are generated from seed, and others as if by nature acting spontaneously.
γίνεται γὰρ ἢ τῆς γῆς σηπομένης ἢ μορίων τινῶν ἐν τοῖς φυτοῖς.
For they are generated either from the putrefaction of earth or from certain parts in plants.
ἔνια γὰρ αὐτὰ μὲν οὐ συνίσταται καθ᾽ αὑτὰ χωρίς, ἐν ἑτέροις δ᾽ ἐγγίνεται δένδρεσιν, οἷον ὁ ἰξός.
For some do not consist of themselves separately, but arise in other trees, as the mistletoe.