§4.1#3παραπλησίως δέ τινες πεπεισμένοι τούτοις εἰσὶ καὶ λέγουσιν ὡς τὸν δεξιὸν ὄρχιν ἀποδουμένοις ἢ τὸν ἀριστερὸν συμβαίνει τοῖς ὀχεύουσιν ἀρρενοτοκεῖν ἢ θηλυτοκεῖν· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ Λεωφάνης ἔλεγεν.
Similarly to these, some have been persuaded and say that for those who copulate, binding the right or the left testicle results in begetting male or female; for Leophanes also spoke in this way.
ἐπί τε τῶν ἐκτεμνομένων τὸν ἕτερον ὄρχιν τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο συμβαίνειν τινές φασιν, οὐκ ἀληθῆ λέγοντες, ἀλλὰ μαντευόμενοι τὸ συμβησόμενον ἐκ τῶν εἰκότων, καὶ προλαμβάνοντες ὡς οὕτως ἔχον πρὶν γινόμενον οὕτως ἰδεῖν, ἔτι δ’ ἀγνοῦντες ὡς οὐθὲν συμβάλλεται πρὸς τὴν γένεσιν τῆς ἀρρενογονίας καὶ θηλυγονίας τὰ μόρια ταῦτα τοῖς ζῴοις.
And concerning those who have one of the two testicles cut out, some say that this very same thing happens, not speaking the truth, but divining what will happen from probabilities, and presupposing that it is so before seeing it actually happening so, and further being ignorant that these parts contribute nothing to the generation of male and female in animals.
τούτου δὲ δημεῖον ὅτι πολλὰ τῶν ζῴων αὐτά τε θήλεα καὶ ἄρρενά ἐστι, καὶ γεννᾷ τὰ μὲν θήλεα τὰ δ’ ἄρρενα, ὄρχεις οὐκ ἔχοντα, καθάπερ τὰ μὴ ἔχοντα πόδας, οἷον τό τε τῶν ἰχθύων γένος καὶ τὸ τῶν ὄφεων.
And a sign of this is that many of the animals themselves are female and male, and beget some female and others male, while not having testicles, just as those not having feet, such as the class of fish and that of snakes.
τὸ μὲν οὖν θερμότητα καὶ ψυχρότητα αἰτίαν οἴεσθαι τοῦ ἄρρενος καὶ τοῦ θήλεος, καὶ τὸ τὴν ἀπόκρισιν ἀπὸ τῶν δεξιῶν γίνεσθαι ἢ τῶν ἀριστερῶν, ἔχει τινὰ λόγον· θερμότερα γὰρ τὰ δεξιὰ τοῦ σώματος τῶν ἀριστερῶν, καὶ τὸ σπέρμα τὸ πεπεμμιένον θερμότερον, τοιοῦτον δὲ τὸ συνεστός, γονιμώτερον δὲ τὸ συνεστὸς μᾶλλον.
Now, to think that heat and cold are the cause of the male and the female, and that the separation comes from the right or the left, has some reason; for the right parts of the body are warmer than the left, and the concocted semen is warmer, and the compacted semen is of such a nature, and that which is more compacted is more fertile.
ἀλλὰ λίαν τὸ λέγειν οὕτω πόρρωθέν ἐστιν ἅπτεσθαι τῆς αἰτίας, δεῖ δ’ ὅτι μάλιστα προσάγειν ἐκ τῶν ἐνδεχομένων ἐγγὺς τῶν πρώτων αἰτίων.
But to speak in this way is to touch the cause from too far off; we must bring it as close as possible to the first causes from what is admissible.
περὶ μὲν οὖν ὅλου τοῦ σώματος καὶ τῶν μορίων, τί τε ἕκαστόν ἐστι καὶ διὰ τίν’ αἰτίαν, εἴρηται πρότερον ἐν ἑτέροις.
Now, concerning the whole body and the parts, what each is and for what cause, has been stated before in other works.
ἀλλ’ ἐπεὶ τὸ ἄρρεν καὶ τὸ θῆλυ διώρισται δυνάμει τινὶ καὶ ἀδυναμίᾳ τὸ μὲν γὰρ δυνάμενον πέττειν καὶ συνιστάναι τε καὶ ἐκκρίνειν σπέρμα ἔχον τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ εἴδους ἄρρεν· λέγω δ’ ἀρχὴν οὐ τὴν τοιαύτην ἐξ ἧς ὥσπερ ὕλης γίνεται τοιοῦτον οἷον τὸ γεννῶν, ἀλλὰ τὴν κινοῦσαν πρώτην, ἐάν τ’ ἐν αὐτῷ ἐάν τ’ ἐν ἄλλῳ τοῦτο δύνηται ποιεῖν· τὸ δὲ δεχόμενον μὲν ἀδυνατοῦν δὲ συνιστάναι καὶ ἐκκρίνειν θῆλυ) ἔτι εἰ πᾶσα πέψις ἐργάζεται θερμῷ, ἀνάγκη καὶ τῶν ζῴων τὰ ἄρρενα τῶν θηλέων θερμότερα εἶναι.
But since the male and the female are defined by a certain capacity and incapacity (for that which is capable of concocting, compacting, and discharging semen containing the principle of the form is male; and I mean by principle not such a one from which as from matter something like the generator is produced, but the first moving principle, whether it is able to do this in itself or in another; and that which receives but is incapable of compacting and discharging is female), and further if all concoction is wrought by heat, it is necessary that the males of animals are warmer than the females.
διὰ γὰρ ψυχρότητα καὶ ἀδυναμίαν πολυαιμεῖ κατὰ τόπους τινὰς τὸ θῆλυ μᾶλλον· καὶ ἔστιν αὐτὸ τοὐναντίον σημεῖον ἢ δι’ ἥνπερ αἰτίαν οἴονταί τινες τὸ θῆλυ θερμότερον εἶναι τοῦ ἄρρενος, διὰ τὴν τῶν καταμηνίων πρόεσιν.
For on account of coldness and incapacity, the female is more full of blood in certain regions; and this itself is the opposite sign to the very cause for which some think the female is warmer than the male, namely on account of the discharge of the menstrual fluids.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ αἷμα θερμόν, τὸ δὲ πλεῖον ἔχον μᾶλλον.
For blood is warm, and that which has more is warmer.
ὑπολαμβάνουσι δὲ τοῦτο γίνεσθαι τὸ πάθος δι’ ὑπερβολὴν αἵματος καὶ θερμότητος, ὥσπερ ἐνδεχόμενον αἷμα εἶναι πᾶν ὁμοίως, ἄνπερ μόνον ὑγρὸν ᾖ καὶ τὴν χρόαν αἱματῶδες, καὶ οὐκ ἔλαττον γινόμενον καὶ καθαρώτερον τοῖς εὐτροφοῦσιν.
And they suppose that this phenomenon happens on account of an excess of blood and heat, as if it were possible for all blood to be alike, provided only it is liquid and bloody in color, and not that it becomes less in quantity and purer for those who are well-nourished.
οἱ δ’ ὥσπερ τὸ κατὰ τὴν κοιλίαν περίττωμα, τὸ πλεῖον τοῦ ἐλάττονος οἴονται σημεῖον εἶναι θερμῆς φύσεως μᾶλλον.
And they, just as with the residue in the belly, think that the greater amount is a sign of a warmer nature rather than the lesser.
καίτοι τοὐναντίον ἐστίν.
Yet it is the opposite.
ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ ἐκ τῆς πρώτης τροφῆς ἐκ πολλῆς ὀλίγον ἀποκρίνεται τὸ χρήσιμον ἐν ταῖς περὶ τοὺς καρποὺς ἐργασίαις, καὶ τέλος οὐθὲν μέρος τὸ ἔσχατον πρὸς τὸ πρῶτον πλῆθός ἐστιν, οὕτω πάλιν καὶ ἐν τῷ σώματι διαδεχόμενα τὰ μέρη ταῖς ἐργασίαις, τὸ τελευταῖον πάμπαν μικρὸν ἐξ ἀπάσης γίνεται τῆς τροφῆς.
For just as from the first food, from a great quantity, a small useful part is separated in the works concerning fruits, and in the end the final portion is no part at all in comparison to the first quantity, so again also in the body, the parts succeeding one another in their works, the very last part becomes altogether small from all the food.
τοῦτο δὲ ἐν μέν τισιν αἷμά ἐστιν, ἐν δέ τισι τὸ ἀνάλογον.
And in some animals this is blood, and in others the analogue.
ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ μὲν δύναται τὸ δ’ ἀδυνατεῖ ἐκκρῖναι τὸ περίττωμα καθαρόν, ἁπάσῃ δὲ δυνάμει ὄργανόν τί ἐστι, καὶ τῇ χεῖρον ἀποτελούσῃ ταὐτὸ καὶ τῇ βέλτιον, τὸ δὲ θῆλυ καὶ τὸ ἄρρεν, πλεοναχῶς λεγρμένου τοῦ δυνατοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀδυνάτου, τοῦτον ἀντίκειται τὸν τρόπον, ἀνάγκη γὰρ καὶ τῷ θήλει καὶ τῷ ἄρρενι εἶναι ὄργανα, τῷ μὲν οὖν ἡ ὑστέρα τῷ δ’ ὁ περίνεός ἐστιν.
And since the one is capable and the other is incapable of discharging the residue pure, and for every capacity there is some organ, both for the one that accomplishes the same thing worse and for the one that does it better, and since the female and the male are opposed in this way, the capable and the incapable being spoken of in many ways, it is necessary that there are organs both for the female and for the male, and for the former it is the uterus, and for the latter the perineos.
ἅμα δ’ ἡ φύσις τήν τε δύναμιν ἀποδίδωσιν ἑκάστῳ καὶ τὸ ὄργανον· βέλτιον γὰρ οὕτως.
And at the same time, nature attributes both the capacity and the organ to each; for it is better this way.