§1.3Ἔχεῖ δὲ τὰ περὶ τοὺς ὄρχεις καὶ τὰς ὑστέρας οὐχ ὁμοίως πᾶσι τοῖς ἐναίμοις ζῴοις, καὶ πρῶτον τὰ περὶ τοὺς ὄρχεις τοῖς ἄρρεσιν.
The parts around the testes and the uteri do not behave similarly in all blooded animals, and first the parts around the testes in males.
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ὅλως ὄρχεις οὐκ ἔχει τῶν τοιούτων ζῴων, οἷον τό τε τῶν ἰχθύων γένος καὶ τὸ τῶν ὄ φεων, ἀλλὰ πόρους μόνον δύο σπερματικούς· τὰ δ’ ἔχει μὲν ὄρχεις, ἐντὸς δ’ ἔχει τούτους πρὸς τῇ ὀσφύϊ κατὰ τὴν τῶν νεφρῶν χώραν, ἀπὸ δὲ τούτων ἑκατέρου πόρον, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς μὴ ἔχουσιν ὄρχεις, συνάπτοντας εἰς ἕν, καθάπερ καὶ ἐπ’ ἐκείνων, οἷον οἵ τε ὄρνιθες πάντες καὶ τὰ ᾠοτοκοῦντα τετράποδα τῶν δεχομένων τὸν ἀέρα καὶ πλεύμονα ἐχόντων.
For some of these animals do not have testes at all, such as the genus of fish and that of snakes, but only two spermatic passages; while others have testes, but have them internally near the loin in the region of the kidneys, and from each of these a passage, just as in those not having testes, joining into one as in their case, such as all birds and the oviparous quadrupeds among those that take in air and have lungs.
καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα πάντα ἐντὸς ἔχει πρὸς τῇ ὀσφύϊ τοὺς ὄρχεις, καὶ δύο πόρους ἀπὸ τούτων ὁμοίως τοῖς ὄφεσιν, οἷον σαῦροι καὶ χελῶναι καὶ τὰ φολιδωτὰ πάντα.
For all these indeed have the testes internally near the loin, and two passages from them in the same way as snakes, such as lizards and tortoises and all scaled animals.
τὰ δὲ ζῳοτόκα πάντα μὲν ἐν τῷ ἔμπροσθεν ἔχει τοὺς ὄρχεις, ἀλλ’ ἕνια αὐτῶν ἔσω πρὸς τῷ τέλει τῆς γαστρός, οἷον ὁ δελφίς, καὶ οὐ πόρους ἀλλ’ αἰδοῖον ἀπὸ τούτων περαῖνον εἰς τὸ ἔξω, καθάπερ οἱ βόες, τὰ δ’ ἔξω καὶ τούτων τὰ μὲν ἀπηρτημένους, ὥσπερ ἄνθρωπος, τὰ δὲ πρὸς τῇ ἕδρᾳ, καθάπερ οἱ ὕες.
And the viviparous animals all have the testes in the front part, but some of them inside near the end of the belly, such as the dolphin, and not passages but a generative organ leading from them to the outside, just like bulls; while others have them outside, and of these, some have them suspended and detached, as man does, and others near the seat, as pigs do.
διώρισται δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν ἀκριβέστερον ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις ταῖς περὶ τῶν ζῴων.
These matters have been defined more accurately in the Inquiries on Animals.
αἱ δ’ ὑστέραι πᾶσαι μέν εἰσι διμερεῖς, καθάπερ καὶ οἱ ὄρχεις τοῖς ἄρρεσι δύο πᾶσιν· ταύτας δ’ ἔχουσι τὰ μὲν πρὸς τοῖς ἄρθροις, καθάπερ αἵ τε γυναῖκες καὶ πάντα τὰ ζῳοτοκοῦντα μὴ μόνον θύραζε ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν αὑτοῖς, καὶ οἱ ἰχθύες ὅσοι ᾠοτοκοῦσιν εἰς τοὐμφανές, τὰ δὲ πρὸς τῷ ὑποζώματι, καθάπερ οἵ τ’ ὄρνιθες πάντες καὶ τῶν ἰχθύων οἱ ζῳοτοκοῦντες.
And the uteri are all bipartite, just as the testes are all two in males; and some have them near the joints, like women and all animals that are viviparous not only externally but also within themselves, and all those fish that lay eggs into the open; while others have them near the diaphragm, as all birds and those fish that are viviparous.
ἔχουσι δὲ δικρόας καὶ τὰ μαλακόστρακα τὰς ὑστέρας καὶ τὰ μαλάκια· τὰ γὰρ καλούμενα τούτων ᾠὰ τοὺς περιέχοντας ὑμένας ὑστερκοὺς ἔχει.
And the crustaceans and the cephalopods also have bifurcate uteri; for their so-called eggs have the surrounding membranes which are uterine.
μάλιστα δὲ ἀδιόριστον ἐπὶ τῶν πολυπόδων ἐστίν, ὥστε δοκεῖν μίαν εἶναι· τούτου δ’ αἴτιον ὁ τοῦ σώματος ὄγκος πάντῃ ὅμοιος ὤν.
But this is most of all indistinct in octopuses, so that the uterus seems to be one; the cause of this is that the bulk of the body is similar in every direction.
δικρόαι δὲ καὶ αἱ τῶν ἐντόμων εἰσὶν ἐν τοῖς μέγεθος ἔχουσιν· ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἐλάττοσιν ἄδηλοι διὰ τὴν μικρότητα τοῦ σώματος.
And the uteri of insects are also bifurcate in those that have some size; but in the smaller ones they are indistinct because of the smallness of the body.
§1.4Τὰ μὲν οὖν εἰρημένα μόρια τοῖς ζῴοις τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον· περὶ δὲ τῆς ἐν τοῖς ἄρρεσι διαφορᾶς τῶν σπερματικῶν ὀργάνων, εἴ τις μέλλει θεωρήσειν τὰς αἰτίας δι’ ἅς εἰσιν, ἀνάγκη λαβεῖν πρῶτον τίνος ἕνεκεν ἡ τῶν ὄρχεών ἐστι σύστασις.
Now the aforementioned parts in animals are in this manner; but concerning the difference of the spermatic organs in males, if one is to investigate the causes for which they exist, it is necessary to first grasp for the sake of what the constitution of the testes exists.
εἰ δὴ πᾶν ἡ φύσις ἢ διὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον ποιεῖ ἢ διὰ τὸ βέλτιον, κἂν τοῦτο τὸ μόριον εἴη διὰ τούτων θάτερον.
If indeed nature makes everything either because of necessity or for the sake of the better, then this part too must exist for one or the other of these reasons.
ὅτι μὲν τοίνυν οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον πρὸς τὴν γένεσιν, φανερόν· πᾶσι γὰρ ἂν ὑπηῆρχε τοῖς γεννῶσι, νῦν δ’ ὄυθ’ οἱ ὄφεις ἔχουσιν ὄρχεις οὔθ’ οἱ ἰχθύες· ὠμμένοι γάρ εἰσι συνδυαζόμενοι καὶ πλήρεις ἔχοντες θοροῦ τοὺς πόρους.
That it is not necessary for generation is clear; for then it would belong to all that generate, whereas now neither snakes have testes nor fish; for they have been seen copulating and having their passages full of semen.
λείπεται τοίνυν βελτίονός τινος χάριν.
It remains, therefore, that they exist for the sake of something better.
ἔστι δὲ τῶν μὲν πλείστων ζῴων ἔργον σχεδὸν οὐθὲν ἄλλο πλὴν ὥσπερ τῶν φυτῶν σπέρμα καὶ καρπός.
Now the function of most animals is almost nothing else than, just like plants, semen and fruit.
ὥσπερ δ’ ἐν τοῖς περὶ τὴν τροφὴν τὰ εὐθυέντερα λαβρότερα πρὸς τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τὴν τῆς τροφῆς, ὅυτω καὶ τὰ μὴ ἔχοντα ὄρχεις πόρους δὲ μόνον, ἢ ἔχοντα μὲν ἐντὸς δ’ ἔχοντα, πάντα ταχύτερα πρὸς τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῶν συνδυασμῶν.
And just as in matters concerning food those with straight intestines are more greedy in their desire for food, so also those not having testes but passages only, or having them but having them internally, are all quicker in the activity of copulation.
ἃ δὲ δεῖ σωφρονέστερα εἶναι, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖ οὐκ εὐθυέντερα, καὶ ἐνταῦθ’ ἕλικας ἔχουσιν οἱ πόροι πρὸς τὸ μὴ λάβρον μηδὲ ταχεῖαν εἶναι τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν.
But those which must be more temperate, just as in the former case they do not have straight intestines, so here also their passages have coils so that the desire may not be greedy nor swift.
οἱ δ’ ὄρχεις εἰσὶ πρὸς τοῦτο μεμηχανημένοι· τοῦ γὰρ σπερματικοῦ περιττώματος στασιμωτέραν ποιοῦσι τὴν κίνησιν, ἐν μὲν τοῖς ζῳοτόκοις, οἷον ἵπποις τε καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς τοιούτοις, καὶ ἐν ἀνθρώποις σώζοντες τὴν ἐπαναδίπλωσιν.
And the testes are designed for this; for they make the movement of the spermatic residue more stable, preserving the doubling back in viviparous animals, such as horses and other such animals, and in humans.
ὃν δὲ τρόπον ἔχει αὕτη, ἐκ τῶν ἱστοριῶν τῶν περὶ τὰ ζῷα δεῖ θεωρεῖν.
In what manner this doubling back is, must be observed from the Inquiries on Animals.
οὐθὲν γάρ εἰσι μόριον τῶν πόρων οἱ ὄρχεις, ἀλλὰ πρόσκεινται, καθάπερ τὰς λαιὰς προσάπτουσιν αἱ ὑφαίνουσαι τοῖς ἱστοῖς· ἀφαιρουμένων γὰρ αὐτῶν ἀνασπῶνται οἱ πόροι ἐντός, ὥστ’ οὐ δύνανται γεννᾶν τὰ ἐκτεμνόμενα, ἐπεὶ εἰ μὴ ἀνεσπῶντο, ἐδύναντο ἄν, καὶ ἤδη ταῦρός τις μετὰ τὴν ἐκτομὴν εὐθέως ὀχεύσας ἐπλήρωσε διὰ τὸ μήπω τοὺς πόρους ἀνεσπάσθαι.
For the testes are no part of the passages, but are attached to them, just as weavers attach weights to the loom; for when they are removed, the passages are drawn up inside, so that castrated animals cannot generate, since if they were not drawn up, they would be able to, and indeed a certain bull immediately after castration copulated and impregnated because the passages had not yet been drawn up.
τοῖς δ’ ὄρνισι καὶ τοῖς ᾠοτόκοις τῶν τετραπόδων δέχονται τὴν σπερματικὴν περίττωσιν, ὥστε βραδυτέραν εἶναι τὴν ἔξοδον ἢ τοῖς ἰχθύσιν.
But in birds and oviparous quadrupeds they receive the spermatic residue, so that its exit is slower than in fish.
φανερὸν δ’ ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρνίθων· περὶ γὰρ τὰς ὀχείας πολὺ μείζους ἴσχουσι τοὺς ὄρχεις, καὶ ὅσα γε τῶν ὀρνέων καθ’ ὥραν μίαν ὀχεύει, ὅταν ὁ χρόνος οὗτος παρέλθῃ, οὕτω μικροὺς ἔχουσιν ὥστε σχεδὸν ἀδήλους εἶναι, περὶ δὲ τὴν ὀχείαν σφόδρα μεγάλους.
This is clear in the case of birds; for around the times of copulation they have much larger testes, and as many of the birds as copulate during one season, when this time passes, they have them so small as to be almost invisible, but around the time of copulation they are very large.
θᾶττον μὲν οὖν ὀχεύουσι τὰ ἐντὸς ἔχοντα· καὶ γὰρ τὰ ἐκτὸς ἔχοντα οὐ πρότερον τὸ σπέρμα ἀφίησι πρὶν ἀνασπάσαι τοὺς ὄρχεις.
Therefore, those having them internally copulate more quickly; for even those having them externally do not emit the semen before drawing up the testes.