§4.4#3ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῶν φυτῶν οὐ τὰ μέγιστα φέρει πλεῖστον καρπόν.
, among plants also, the largest do not bear the most fruit.
διὰ τί μὲν οὖν τῶν ζῴων τὰ μὲν πολυτόκα τὰ δ᾽ ὀλιγοτόκα τὴν φύσιν ἐστίν, εἴρηται·
Now, why some animals are by nature prolific and others produce few offspring has been said.
τῆς δὲ νῦν ῥηθείσης ἀπορίας μᾶλλον ἄν τις θαυμάσειεν ἐπὶ τῶν πολυτοκούντων, ἐπειδὴ φαίνεται πολλάκις ἀπὸ μιᾶς ὀχείας κυϊσκόμενα τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν ζῴων, τὸ δὲ σπέρμα τὸ τοῦ ἄρρενος, εἴτε συμβάλλεται πρὸς τὴν ὕλην μόριον γινόμενον τοῦ κυήματος καὶ τῷ τοῦ θήλεος σπέρματι μιγνύμενον, εἴτε καὶ μὴ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον, ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ φαμὲν συνάγον καὶ δημιουργοῦν τὴν ὕλην τὴν ἐν τῷ θήλει καὶ τὸ περίττωμα τὸ σπερματικόν, καθάπερ ὁ ὀπὸς τὴν ὑγρότητα τοῦ γάλακτος, διὰ τίνα ποτ᾽ αἰτίαν οὐχ ἓν ἀποτελεῖ ζῷον μέγεθος ἔχον;
But one might wonder more at the difficulty just mentioned in the case of prolific animals, since such animals are often seen to conceive from a single copulation, and why on earth the semen of the male—whether it contributes to the material by becoming a part of the embryo and mixing with the semen of the female, or not in this way, but, as we say, by bringing together and fashioning the material in the female and the seminal residue, just as fig-juice does the liquid part of milk—does not produce one animal of great size?
ὥσπερ ἐνταῦθα ὁ ὀπὸς οὐ κεχώρισται τῷ συνιστάναι ποσόν τι, ἀλλ᾽ ὅσῳπερ ἂν εἰς πλεῖον ἔλθῃ καὶ πλείων, τοσούτῳ τὸ πηγνύμενόν ἐστι μεῖζον.
Just as in that case the fig-juice is not distinguished in setting a certain quantity, but the more it comes into more liquid, the larger is the curdled mass.
τὸ μὲν οὖν ἕλκειν φάναι τοὺς τόπους τῆς ὑστέρας τὸ σπέρμα, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πλείω γίνεσθαι, διὰ τὸ τῶν τόπων πλῆθος καὶ τὰς κοτυληδόνας οὐχ ἓν οὔσας, ου έν ἐστιν.
Now, to say that the parts of the uterus attract the semen, and that for this reason more embryos are produced because of the multiplicity of the parts and the cotyledons not being single, is of no account.
ἐν ταὐτῷ γὰρ γίνονται τόπῳ τῆς ὑστέρας δύο πολλάκις, ἐν δὲ τοῖς πολυτόκοις, ὅταν πληρωθῇ τῶν ἐμβρύων, ἐφεξῆς κείμενα φαίνεται.
For two embryos are often produced in the same part of the uterus, and in prolific animals, when it is full of embryos, they are seen lying in a row.
τοῦτο δὲ δῆλον ἐκ τῶν ἀνατομῶν ἐστίν.
This is clear from dissections.
ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ καὶ τελεουμένων τῶν ζῴων ἔστιν ἑκάστου τι μέγεθος καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἔλαττον, ὧν οὔτ᾽ ἂν μεῖζον γένοιτο οὔτ᾽ ἔλαττον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ διαστήματι τοῦ μεγέθους λαμβάνουσι πρὸς ἄλληλα τὴν ὑπεροχὴν καὶ τὴν ἔλλειψιν, καὶ γίνεται μείζων ὁ δ᾽ ἐλάττων ἄνθρωπος καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων ὁτιοῦν, οὕτω καὶ ἐξ ἧς γίνεται ὕλης σπερματικῆς, οὐκ ἔστιν ἀόριστος οὔτ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖον οὔτ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ ἔλαττον, ὥστ᾽ ἐξ ὁποσησοῦν γίνεσθαι τῷ πλήθει.
But just as also in fully developed animals there is for each a certain size both towards the larger and towards the smaller, beyond which they can be neither larger nor smaller, but in the intermediate interval of size they take their excess and defect in relation to one another, and one man becomes larger and another smaller, and so with any other of the animals, so also with the seminal material from which they are formed, it is not indefinite either towards more or towards less, so that an embryo could be formed from any quantity whatsoever in amount.
ὅσα οὖν τῶν ζῴων διὰ τὴν εἰρημένην αἰτίαν πλεῖον προΐεται περίττωμα ἢ εἰς ἑνὸς ζῴου ἀρχήν, οὐκ ἐνδέχεται ἐκ ταύτης ἓν γίνεσθαι πάσης, ἀλλὰ τοσαῦτα ὅσα τοῖς μεγέθεσιν ὤρισται τοῖς ἱκνουμένοις.
Therefore, those of the animals which, for the cause mentioned, discharge more residue than is needed for the starting-point of one animal, cannot form one from all of this, but as many as are determined by the sizes that are proper.
οὐδὲ τὸ τοῦ ἄρρενος σπέρμα ἢ ἡ δύναμις ἡ ἐν τῷ σπέρματι οὐθὲν συνίστησι πλέον ἢ ἔλαττον τοῦ πεφυκότος.
Nor does the semen of the male, or the power in the semen, form anything larger or smaller than is natural.
ὁμοίως τ᾽ εἰ πλέον σπέρμα ἀφίησι τὸ ἄρρεν ἢ δυνάμεις πλείους ἐν διαιρουμένῳ τῷ σπέρματι, οὐθὲν ποιήσει μεῖζον τὸ πλεῖστον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὐναντίον διαφθερεῖ καταξηραῖνον.
Similarly, if the male discharges more semen, or more powers in the semen when it is divided, it will not make the mass any larger, but on the contrary will destroy it by drying it up.
οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ πῦρ θερμαίνει τὸ ὕδωρ μᾶλλον, ὅσῳπερ ἂν ᾖ πλέον, ἀλλ᾽ ἔστιν ὅρος τῆς θερμότητος, ἧς ὑπαρχούσης ἐὰν αὔξῃ τις τὸ πῦρ, θερμὸν μὲν οὐκέτι γίνεται μᾶλλον, ἐξατμίζει δὲ μᾶλλον, καὶ τέλος ἀφανίζεται καὶ γίνεται ξηρόν.
For neither does fire heat water the more, the larger it is, but there is a limit to the heat, which being present, if one increases the fire, the water does not indeed become any hotter, but evaporates more, and finally disappears and becomes dry.
ἐπεὶ δὲ φαίνεται συμμετρίας δεῖσθαί τινος πρὸς ἄλληλα τό τε περίττωμα τὸ τοῦ θήλεος καὶ τὸ παρὰ τοῦ ἄρρενος, ὅσα προΐεται σπέρμα τῶν ἀρρένων, τὰ πολυτόκα τῶν ζῴων εὐθὺς ἀφίησι τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν δυνάμενον πλείω συνιστάναι μεριζόμενον, τὸ δὲ θῆλυ τοσοῦτον ὥστε πλείους γίνεσθαι συστάσεις.
But since it appears that the residue of the female and that from the male (in those males that discharge semen) require a certain symmetry in relation to each other, the prolific among animals immediately discharge, on the part of the male, semen capable of forming more when divided, and on the part of the female, a quantity such that more formations can occur.
τὸ δ᾽ ἐπὶ τοῦ γάλακτος παράδειγμα λεχθὲν οὐχ ὅμοιόν ἐστιν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ σπέρματος θερμότης οὐ μόνον συνίστησι ποσὸν ἀλλὰ καὶ ποιόν τι, ἡ δ᾽ ἐν τῷ ὀπῷ καὶ τῇ πυετίᾳ τὸ ποσὸν μόνον.
But the example mentioned concerning milk is not similar; for the heat in the semen not only forms a certain quantity but also a certain quality, whereas that in the fig-juice and rennet forms quantity alone.
τοῦ μὲν οὖν πολλὰ γίνεσθαι τὰ κυήματα καὶ μὴ συνεχὲς ἓν ἐκ πάντων ἐν τοῖς πολυτόκοις τοῦτ᾽ αὐτὸ αἴτιον, ὅτι οὐκ ἐξ ὁποσουοῦν γίνεται κύημα, ἀλλ᾽ ἐάν τε ὀλίγον ᾖ, οὐκ ἔσται, ἐάν τε πολὺ λίαν· ὥρισται γὰρ ἡ δύναμις καὶ τοῦ πάσχοντος καὶ τῆς θερμότητος τῆς ποιούσης.
This, then, is the cause why in prolific animals the embryos are many and not one continuous whole from all of them, because an embryo is not formed from any quantity whatsoever, but if it be small, it will not be, and if it be too much; for the power both of the passive element and of the heat that acts is determined.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς μονοτόκοις καὶ μεγάλοις τῶν ζῴων οὐ πολλὰ γίγνεται ἐκ πολλοῦ περιττώματος· καὶ γὰρ ἐν ἐκείνοις ἐκ ποσοῦ τινὸς ποσόν τι τὸ ἐργαζόμενόν ἐστιν.
Similarly, in single-bearing and large animals, many embryos do not come from a large amount of residue; for in them also that which works forms a certain quantity from a certain quantity.
οὐ προΐεται μὲν οὖν πλείω τοιαύτην ὕλην διὰ τὴν προειρημένην αἰτίαν· ἣν δὲ προΐεται, τοσαύτη κατὰ φύσιν ἐστὶν ἐξ ἧς ἓν γίνεται κύημα μόνον.
They do not, then, discharge more such material for the cause mentioned before; and what they do discharge is naturally of such a quantity that only one embryo is formed from it.
ἐὰν δέ ποτε πλεῖον ἔλθῃ, διτοκεῖ τότε.
But if ever more comes, they then produce twins.
διὸ καὶ δοκεῖ τερατώδη τὰ τοιαῦτ᾽ εἶναι μᾶλλον, ὅτι γίνεται παρὰ τὸ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ καὶ τὸ εἰωθός.
Wherefore also such cases seem to be more monstrous, because they occur contrary to what is general and customary.