§4.4#1καὶ γὰρ τὸ τέρας ἀναπηρία τις ἐστίν.
For indeed a monster is a kind of deformity.
Δημόκριτος μὲν οὖν ἔφησε γίγνεσθαι τὰ τέρατα διὰ τὸ δύο γονὰς πίπτειν, τὴν μὲν πρότερον ὁρμήσασαν τὴν δ᾽ ὕστερον, καὶ ταύτην ἐξελθοῦσαν ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὴν ὑστέραν ὥστε συμφύεσθαι καὶ ἐπαλλάττειν τὰ μόρια.
Now Democritus said that monsters are produced because two emissions of semen fall, one having started earlier and the other later, and this latter, having gone out, comes into the womb of the former so that the parts fuse and overlap.
ταῖς δ᾽ ὄρνισιν ἐπεὶ συμβαίνει ταχεῖαν γίνεσθαι τὴν ὀχείαν, ἀεὶ τά τ᾽ ᾠὰ καὶ τὴν χρόαν αὐτῶν ἐπαλλάττειν φησίν.
And since in birds copulation occurs quickly, he says they always overlap both the eggs and their color.
εἰ δὲ συμβαίνει ἐξ ἑνὸς σπέρματος πλείω γίνεσθαι καὶ μιᾶς συνουσίας, ὅπερ φαίνεται, βέλτιον μὴ κύκλῳ περιιέναι παρέντας τὴν σύντομον.
But if it happens that more than one offspring is produced from one semen and one copulation, as appears to be the case, it is better not to go round in a circle, passing over the short cut.
τοῖς γὰρ τοιούτοις μάλιστ᾽ ἀναγκαῖον τοῦτο συμβαίνειν, ὅταν μὴ διακριθῶσιν ἀλλ᾽ ἅμα τὰ σπέρματα ἔλθωσιν.
For in such animals this is most necessary to happen, when the semens do not remain separate but come together.
εἰ μὲν οὖν αἰτιάσασθαι δεῖ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄρρενος γονήν, τοῦτον ἂν τὸν τρόπον εἴη λεκτέον· ὅλως δὲ μᾶλλον τὴν αἰτίαν οἰητέον ἐν τῇ ὕλῃ καὶ τοῖς συνισταμένοις κυήμασιν εἶναι.
If, then, we must assign the cause to the semen from the male, it should be stated in this way; but on the whole, we must rather think that the cause lies in the matter and in the embryos that are being formed.
διὸ καὶ γίνονται τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν τεράτων ἐν μὲν τοῖς μονοτόκοις σπάνια πάμπαν, ἐν δὲ τοῖς πολυτόκοις μᾶλλον, καὶ μάλιστ’ ἐν ὄρνισι, τῶν δ᾽ ὀρνίθων ἐν ταῖς ἀλεκτορίσιν.
Therefore, such monsters occur very rarely among those that produce one offspring at a birth, but more among those that produce many, and most of all in birds, and among birds in fowls.
αὗται γὰρ πολυτοκοῦσιν, οὐ μόνον τῷ πολλάκις τίκτειν ὥσπερ τὸ τῶν περιστερῶν γένος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ πολλὰ ἅμα ἔχειν κυήματα καὶ πᾶσαν ὥραν ὀχεύεσθαι.
For these produce many offspring, not only by laying often like the pigeon class, but also by having many embryos at the same time and copulating at every season.
διόπερ καὶ πολλὰ δίδυμα τίκτουσιν· συμφύεται γὰρ διὰ τὸ πλησίον ἀλλήλων εἶναι τὰ κυήματα, καθάπερ ἐνίοτε πολλὰ τῶν περικαρπίων, τούτων δὲ ὅσων μὲν ἂν αἱ λέκιθοι διορίζωνται κατὰ τὸν ὑμένα, δύο γίνονται νεοττοὶ κεχωρισμένοι, περιττὸν οὐδὲν ἔχοντες·
Wherefore they also lay many double eggs; for the embryos fuse because they are near one another, just as sometimes many of the fruits fuse.
ὅσων δὲ συνεχεῖς καὶ μὴ διείργει μηθέν, ἐκ τούτων οἱ νεοττοὶ γίνονται τερατώδεις, σῶμα μὲν καὶ κεφαλὴν μίαν ἔχοντες, σκέλη δὲ τέτταρα καὶ πτέρυγας διὰ τὸ τὰ μὲν ἄνωθεν ἐκ τοῦ λευκοῦ γίνεσθαι καὶ πρότερον, ταμιευομένης ἐκ τῆς λεκίθου τῆς τροφῆς αὐτοῖς, τὸ δὲ κάτω μόριον ὑστερίζειν μέν, τὴν δὲ τροφὴν εἶναι μίαν καὶ ἀδιόριστον.
Of these, in those where the yolks are separated by the membrane, two separate chicks are produced, having nothing superfluous; but in those where they are continuous and nothing divides them, from these the chicks produced are monstrous, having one body and one head, but four legs and four wings, because the upper parts are formed from the white first, and their nourishment is rationed out from the yolk, while the lower part is later, and their nourishment is one and undivided.
ἤδη δὲ καὶ ὄφις ὦπται δικέφαλος διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίαν· ᾠοτοκεῖ γὰρ καὶ πολυτοκεῖ καὶ τοῦτο τὸ γένος.
And already a two-headed snake has also been seen for the same cause; for this genus also is oviparous and produces many offspring.
σπανιώτερον δὲ τὸ τερατῶδες ἐπ᾽ αὐτῶν διὰ τὸ σχῆμα τῆς ὑστέρας· στοιχηδὸν γὰρ κεῖται τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ᾠῶν διὰ τὸ μῆκος αὐτῆς.
But the monstrous is rarer in them because of the shape of the uterus; for the multitude of eggs lies in a row because of its length.
καὶ περὶ τὰς μελίττας καὶ τοὺς σφῆκας οὐδὲν γίνεται τοιοῦτον· ἐν κεχωρισμένοις γὰρ κυτταρίοις ὁ τόκος ἐστὶν αὐτῶν.
And in the case of bees and wasps nothing of the sort occurs; for their birth is in separate cells.
περὶ δὲ τὰς ἀλεκτορίδας τοὐναντίον συμβέβηκεν, ᾗ καὶ δῆλον ὡς ἐν τῇ ὕλῃ τὴν αἰτίαν δεῖ νομίζειν τῶν τοιούτων· καὶ γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων ἐν τοῖς πολυτόκοις μᾶλλον.
But in fowls the opposite happens, which also makes it clear that we must believe the cause of such things to lie in the matter; for indeed in other animals it occurs more in those that produce many offspring.
διὸ ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ ἧττον·
Therefore it occurs less in man; for as a rule man produces one offspring and produces it complete.
ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ μονοτόκον ἐστὶ καὶ τελειογόνον, ἐπεὶ καὶ τούτων ἐν οἷς τόποις πολύγονοι αἱ γυναῖκές εἰσι, τοῦτο συμβαίνει μᾶλλον, οἷον περὶ Αἴγυπτον.
Yet even among these, in places where women are very prolific, this happens more, as around Egypt.
ἐν δὲ ταῖς αἰξὶ καὶ τοῖς προβάτοις γίνεται μᾶλλον· πολυτοκώτερα γάρ ἐστιν.
But it happens more in goats and sheep; for they are more prolific.
ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς πολυσχιδέσιν· ἔστι γὰρ τὰ τοιαῦτα πολυτόκα τῶν ζῴων καὶ οὐ τελειογόνα, καθάπερ ἡ κύων· τὰ γὰρ πολλὰ τίκτει τυφλὰ τούτων.
And still more in those with fissiped feet; for such of the animals are prolific and do not produce their offspring complete, like the dog; for most of these are born blind.
δι᾽ ἣν δ᾽ αἰτίαν τοῦτο συμβαίνει καὶ δι᾽ ἣν αἰτίαν πολυτοκοῦσιν, ὕστερον λεκτέον.
For what cause this happens, and for what cause they produce many offspring, must be stated later.
ἀλλὰ προωδοποίηται τῇ φύσει πρὸς τὸ τερατοτοκεῖν τὸ μὴ γεννᾶν ὅμοια διὰ τὴν ἀτέλειαν· ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὸ τέρας τῶν ἀνομοίων.
But producing offspring unlike the parents because of incompleteness has paved the way for nature towards producing monsters; for the monster also belongs to the class of things that are unlike.
διόπερ ἐπαλλάττει τοῦτο τὸ σύμπτωμα τοῖς τοιούτοις τὴν φύσιν.
Wherefore this accident overlaps the nature in such animals.
ἐν γὰρ τούτοις μάλιστα γίνεται καὶ τὰ μετάχοιρα καλούμενα. ταῦτα δ᾽ ἐστὶ κατά τι πεπονθότα τερατῶδες· τὸ γὰρ ἐκλείπειν ἢ προσεῖναί τι τερατῶδες.
For in these most of all occur also what are called "pigs born after the regular time." And these are in some respect monstrously affected; for to be deficient or to have something extra is monstrous.
ἔστι γὰρ τὸ τέρας τῶν παρὰ φύσιν τι, παρὰ φύσιν δ᾽ οὐ πᾶσαν ἀλλὰ τὴν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ· περὶ γὰρ τὴν ἀεὶ καὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀνάγκης οὐθὲν γίνεται παρὰ φύσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ μὲν οὕτω γινομένοις, ἐνδεχομένοις δὲ καὶ ἄλλως, ἐπεὶ καὶ τούτων ἐν ὅσοις συμβαίνει παρὰ τὴν τάξιν μὲν ταύτην, ἀεὶ μέντοι μὴ τυχόντως, ἧττον εἶναι δοκεῖ τέρας διὰ τὸ καὶ τὸ παρὰ φύσιν εἶναι τρόπον τινὰ κατὰ φύσιν, ὅταν μὴ κρατήσῃ τὴν κατὰ τὴν ὕλην ἡ κατὰ τὸ εἶδος φύσις.
For the monster is something contrary to nature, not indeed contrary to all nature, but contrary to nature as a rule; for against the nature which is always and of necessity nothing happens contrary to nature, but it happens in those things which happen as a rule in this way, but which may also happen otherwise. And since even among these, in as many as happen contrary to this order, yet always and not by chance, it seems to be less of a monster, because even what is contrary to nature is in a way according to nature, when the nature according to form does not master the nature according to matter.
διόπερ οὔτε τὰ τοιαῦτα τέρατα λέγουσιν, οὔτ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐν ὅσοις εἴωθέ τι γίνεσθαι, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς περικαρπίοις.
Wherefore they do not call such things monsters, nor in other cases in as many as something is accustomed to happen, as in fruits.
ἔστι γάρ τις ἄμπελος ἣν καλοῦσί τινες κάπνεον, ἥν, ἂν ἐνέγκῃ μέλανας βότρυς, οὐ κρίνουσι τέρας διὰ τὸ πλειστάκις εἰωθέναι ταύτην τοῦτο ποιεῖν.
For there is a certain vine which some call "kapneos" (smoky), which, if it bears black clusters of grapes, they do not judge a monster, because this vine is accustomed to do this most of the time.