§4.3#2μάλιστα μὲν οὖν πέφυκεν ᾗ ἄρρεν καὶ ᾗ πατήρ, ἅμα κρατεῖν καὶ κρατεῖσθαι.
It is, therefore, the most natural thing that, in respect of being male and in respect of being a father, the movement should master and be mastered at the same time.
μικρὰ γὰρ ἡ διαφορά, ὥστ’ οὐκ ἔργον ἅμα συμβῆναι ἀμφότερα· ὁ γὰρ Σωκράτης ἀνὴρ τοιόσδε τις.
For the difference is small, so that it is no difficult task for both to happen together; for Socrates is a particular sort of man.
διὸ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ τὰ μὲν ἄρρενα τῷ πατρὶ ἔοικεν, τὰ δὲ θήλεα τῇ μητρί.
For this reason, as a rule, males resemble their father, and females their mother.
ἅμα γὰρ εἰς ἄμφω ἔκστασις ἐγένετο, ἀντίκειται δὲ τῷ μὲν ἄρρενι τὸ θῆλυ τῷ δὲ πατρὶ ἡ μήτηρ· ἡ δ’ ἔκστασις εἰς τἀντικείμενα.
For deviation occurs in both powers at the same time, and the female is opposite to the male, and the mother to the father; and deviation is into opposites.
ἐὰν δ’ ἡ μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄρρενος κρατήσῃ κίνησις, ἡ δ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ Σωκράτους μὴ κρατήσῃ, ἢ αὕτη μὲν ἐκείνη δὲ μή, τότε συμβαίνει γίνεσθαι ἄρρενά τε μητρὶ ἐοικότα καὶ θήλεα πατρί.
But if the movement from the male masters, while that from Socrates does not, or if the latter does and the former does not, then it happens that males are produced resembling their mother, and females resembling their father.
ἐὰν δὲ λυθῶσιν αἱ κινήσεις, καὶ ᾗ μὲν ἄρρεν μείνῃ, ἡ δὲ τοῦ Σωκράτους λυθῇ εἰς τὴν τοῦ πατρός, ἔσται ἄρρεν τῷ πάππῳ ἐοικὸς ἢ τῶν ἄλλων τινὶ τῶν ἄνωθεν προγόνων κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν λόγον.
If, on the other hand, the movements are dissolved, and while it remains a male, the movement of Socrates is dissolved into that of his father, the offspring will be a male resembling his grandfather, or some other of the ancestors further back on this principle.
κρατηθέντος δὲ ᾗ ἄρρεν, θῆλυ ἔσται, καὶ ἐοικὸς μάλιστα μὲν τῇ μητρί, ἐὰν δὲ καὶ αὕτη λυθῇ ἡ κίνησις, μητρὶ μητρὸς ἢ ἄλλῃ τινὶ τῶν ἄνωθεν ἔσται ἡ ὁμοιότης κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον.
But if the movement is mastered in respect of being male, the offspring will be a female, and will resemble its mother most of all; but if this movement also is dissolved, the resemblance will be to the mother's mother or to some other of the ancestors further back on the same principle.
ὁ δ’ αὐτὸς τρόπος καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν μορίων· καὶ γὰρ τῶν μορίων τὰ μὲν τῷ πατρὶ ἔοικε πολλάκις, τὰ δὲ τῇ μητρί, τὰ δὲ τῶν προγόνων τισίν, ἔνεισι γὰρ καὶ τῶν μορίων αἱ μὲν ἐνεργείᾳ κινήσεις αἱ δὲ δυνάμει, καθάπερ εἴρηται πολλάκις. καθόλου δὲ δεῖ λαβεῖν ὑποθέσεις, μίαν μὲν τὴν εἰρημένην, ὅτι. ἔνεισι τῶν κινήσεων αἱ μὲν δυνάμει αἱ δ’ ἐνεργείᾳ, ἄλλας δὲ δύο, ὅτι κρατούμενον μὲν ἐξίσταται εἰς τὸ ἀντικείμενον, λυόμενον δὲ εἰς τὴν ἐχομένην κίνησιν, καὶ ἧττον μὲν λυόμενον εἰς τὴν ἐγγύς, μᾶλλον δὲ εἰς τὴν πορρώτερον.
And the same way holds also in the case of the parts of the body; for often some of the parts resemble the father, others the mother, and others some of the ancestors, because in the parts as well some of the movements are present in actuality and others in potentiality, as has been said many times.\nOn the whole, we must assume as hypotheses: first, the one already stated, namely, that some of the movements are present in potentiality and others in actuality; and two others, that that which is mastered deviates into its opposite, while that which is dissolved slackens into the next succeeding movement, and that which is slightly dissolved changes into a near movement, but that which is more dissolved into one further off.
τέλος δ’ οὕτως συγχέονται ὥστε μηθενὶ ἐοικέναι τῶν οἰκείων καὶ συγγενῶν, ἀλλὰ λείπεσθαι τὸ κοινὸν μόνον καὶ εἶναι ἄνθρωπον.
And finally they are so confused that the offspring resembles none of its own family or kindred, but only what is common remains, and it is simply a human being.
τούτου δ’ αἴτιον ὅτι πᾶσιν ἀκολουθεῖ τοῦτο τοῖς καθ’ ἕκαστον· καθόλου γὰρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὁ δὲ Σωκράτης πατήρ, καὶ ἡ μήτηρ ἥτις ποτ’ ἦν, τῶν καθ’ ἔκαστον. αἴτιον δὲ τοῦ μὲν λύεσθαι τὰς κινήσεις ὅτι τὸ ποιοῦν καὶ πάσχει ὑπὸ τοῦ πάσχοντος, οἷον τὸ τέμνον ἀμβλύνεται ὑπὸ τοῦ τεμνομένου καὶ τὸ θερμαῖνον ψύχεται ὑπὸ τοῦ θερμαινομένου, καὶ ὅλως τὸ κινοῦν ἔξω τοῦ πρώτου ἀντικινεῖταί τινα κίνησιν, οἷον τὸ ὠθοῦν ἀντωθεῖταί πως καὶ ἀντιθλίβεται τὸ θλῖβον.
The cause of this is that this common element accompanies all individuals; for 'human being' is a universal, whereas Socrates, the father, and the mother, whoever she may be, are individuals.\nThe cause of the dissolution of the movements is that the agent is also acted upon by that which is acted upon; for instance, that which cuts is blunted by that which is cut, and that which warms is cooled by that which is warmed, and in general that which moves (except the first mover) is in turn moved with some movement, as that which pushes is in some way pushed back, and that which squeezes is squeezed in return.
ἐνίοτε δὲ καὶ ὅλως ἔπαθε μᾶλλον ἢ ἐποίησεν, καὶ ἐψύχθη μὲν τὸ θερμαῖνον, ἐθερμάνθη δὲ τὸ ψῦχον, ὁτὲ μὲν οὐθὲν ποιῆσαν, ὁτὲ δὲ ἧττον ἢ παθόν.
And sometimes the agent is even acted upon more than it acts, and that which warms is cooled, and that which cools is warmed, sometimes performing no action at all, and sometimes less than it has suffered.
εἴρηται δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν ἐν τοῖς περὶ τοῦ ποιεῖν καὶ πάσχειν διωρισμένοις, ἐν ποίοις ὑπάρχει τῶν ὄντων τὸ ποιεῖν καὶ πάσχειν. ἐξίσταται δὲ τὸ πάσχον καὶ οὐ κρατεῖται ἢ δι᾽ ἔλλειψιν δυνάμεως τοῦ πέττοντος καὶ κινοῦντος, ἢ διὰ πλῆθος καὶ ψυχρότητα τοῦ πεττομένου καὶ διοριζομένου.
These matters have been discussed in our treatise on 'Acting and Being Acted Upon', where we defined in which of existing things acting and being acted upon occur.\nThat which is acted upon deviates and is not mastered either through a deficiency in the power of that which concocts and moves, or through the quantity and coldness of that which is concocted and defined.
τῇ μὲν γὰρ κρατοῦν τῇ δὲ οὐ κρατοῦν ποιεῖ πολύμορφον τὸ συνιστάμενον, οἷον ἐπὶ τῶν ἀθλητῶν συμβαίνει διὰ τὴν πολυφαγίαν.
For by mastering in one part and not in another, it makes the concocted product multiform, as happens in the case of athletes owing to their excessive eating.
διὰ πλῆθος γὰρ τροφῆς οὐ δυναμένης τῆς φύσεως κρατεῖν, ὥστ᾽ ἀνάλογον αὔξειν καὶ διαμένειν ὁ μοίαν τὴν μορφήν, ἀλλοῖα γίνεται τὰ μέρη, καὶ σχεδὸν ἐνίοθ᾽ οὕτως ὥστε μηθὲν ἐοικέναι τῷ πρότερον.
For because of the quantity of food which nature is unable to master, so as to increase proportionally and keep the form the same, the parts become different, and sometimes almost so much so that they do not resemble their former state at all.
παραπλήσιον δὲ τούτῳ καὶ τὸ νόσημα τὸ καλούμενον σατυριᾶν· καὶ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ διὰ ῥεύματος ἢ πνεύματος ἀπέπτου πλῆθος, εἰς μόρια τοῦ προσώπου παρεμπεσόντος, τοῦ ζῴου καὶ σατύρου φαίνεται τὸ πρόσωπον. Διὰ τίνα μὲν οὖν αἰτίαν θήλεα καὶ ἄρρενα γίνεται, καὶ τὰ μὲν ἐοικότα τοῖς γονεῦσι, θήλεά τε θήλεσι καὶ ἄρρενα ἄρρεσι, τὰ δ᾽ ἀνάπαλιν, θήλεά τε τῷ πατρὶ καὶ ἄρρενα τῇ μητρί, καὶ ὅλως τὰ μὲν τοῖς προγόνοις ἔοικε τὰ δ᾽ οὐθενί, καὶ ταῦτα καὶ καθ᾽ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα καὶ τῶν μορίων ἕκαστον, διώρισται περὶ πάντων.
Similar to this is also the disease called 'satyriasis'; for in this also, owing to a quantity of unconcocted flux or wind entering into the parts of the face, the face of the animal appears like that of a satyr.\nTherefore, the cause why females and males are produced, and why some offspring resemble their parents (females resembling females and males resembling males), and others the reverse (females resembling their father and males their mother), and in general why some resemble their ancestors and others none at all, and this both as regards the whole body and as regards each of the parts, has been defined in all cases.