§4.5#1Περὶ μὲν οὖν ὀλιγοτοκίας καὶ πολυτοκίας καὶ παραφύσεως τῶν πλεοναζόντων ἢ ἐλλειπόντων μορίων, ἔτι δὲ περὶ τῶν τερατωδῶν, εἴρηται.
, we have spoken about oligotoky, polytoky, and the supernumerary parts that are in excess or deficient, and furthermore about monsters.
τῶν δὲ ζῴων τὰ μὲν ὅλως οὐκ ἐπικυΐσκεται τὰ δ᾽ ἐπικυΐσκεται, καὶ τῶν ἐπικυϊσκομένων τὰ μὲν δύναται τὰ κυήματα ἐκτρέφειν, τὰ δὲ ποτὲ μὲν ποτὲ δ᾽ οὔ.
On the other hand, of animals, some do not undergo superfetation at all, while others do; and of those that undergo superfetation, some are able to bring the embryos to maturity, while others can do so at one time but not at another.
τοῦ δὲ μὴ ἐπικυΐσκεσθαι αἴτιον ὅτι μονοτόκα ἐστίν.
The cause of their not undergoing superfetation is that they are monotocous.
τά τε γὰρ μώνυχα οὐκ ἐπικυΐσκεται καὶ τὰ τούτων μείζονα· διὰ γὰρ τὸ μέγεθος τὸ περίττωμα ἀναλίσκεται εἰς τὸ κύημα.
For neither solid-hoofed animals nor those larger than these undergo superfetation; for, owing to their size, the residue is consumed for the embryo.
πᾶσι γὰρ ὑπάρχει μέγεθος τούτοις σώματος, τῶν δὲ μεγάλων καὶ τὰ ἔμβρυα μεγάλα κατὰ λόγον ἐστίν· διὸ καὶ τὸ τῶν ἐλεφάντων ἔμβρυον ἡλίκον μόσχος ἐστίν.
For body size belongs to all of these, and in large animals, the embryos are also large in proportion; wherefore also the embryo of elephants is as large as a calf.
τὰ δὲ πολυτόκα ἐπικυΐσκεται διὰ τὸ τὰ πλείονα τοῦ ἑνὸς εἶναι θατέρῳ θάτερον ἐπικύημα.
On the other hand, polytocous animals undergo superfetation because, since there are more than one, one embryo becomes a superfetated product to another.
τούτων δ᾽ ὅσα μὲν μέγεθος ἔχει, καθάπερ ἄνθρωπος, ἐὰν μὲν ἡ ἑτέρα ὀχεία τῆς ἑτέρας γένηται πάρεγγυς, ἐκτρέφει τὸ ἐπικυηθέν· ἤδη γὰρ ὦπται τὸ τοιοῦτον συμβεβηκός.
And of these, such as have size, like man, if the one coitus occurs very close to the other, bring the superfetated offspring to maturity; for such an event has already been observed to happen.
αἴτιον δὲ τὸ εἰρημένον· καὶ γὰρ ἐν τῇ μιᾷ συνουσίᾳ πλεῖον τὸ ἀπιόν ἐστι σπέρμα, ὃ μερισθὲν ποιεῖ πολυτοκεῖν, ὧν ὑστερίζει θάτερον.
And the cause is what has been said; for even in a single intercourse the semen discharged is more than enough, which, being divided, causes multiple births, and of these embryos one lags behind the other.
ὅταν δ᾽ ἤδη τοῦ κυήματος ηὐξημένου συμβῇ γίνεσθαι τὴν ὀχείαν, ἐπικυΐσκεται μέν ποτε, ὀλιγάκις μέντοι διὰ τὸ τὴν ὑστέραν συμμύειν ὡς τὰ πολλὰ μέχρι τῶν κυουμένων ταῖς γυναιξίν.
But when the coitus happens to take place when the embryo is already enlarged, superfetation sometimes occurs, but rarely, because in women the uterus is generally closed during gestation.
ἂν δὲ συμβῇ ποτέ (καὶ γὰρ τοῦτ᾽ ἤδη γέγονεν), οὐ δύναται τελειοῦν, ἀλλὰ κυήματ᾽ ἐκπίπτει παραπλήσια τοῖς καλουμένοις ἐκτρώμασιν.
But if it ever does happen (for this also has already occurred), it cannot bring them to maturity, but the embryos are cast out, resembling what are called abortions.
ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν μονοτόκων διὰ τὸ μέγεθος εἰς τὸ προϋπάρχον τὸ περίττωμα τρέπεται πᾶν, οὕτω καὶ τούτοις, πλὴν ἐκείνοις μὲν εὐθύς, τούτοις δ᾽ ὅταν αὐξηθῇ τὸ ἔμβρυον· τότε γὰρ ἔχουσι παραπλησίως τοῖς μονοτόκοις.
For just as in monotocous animals, owing to their size, all the residue is diverted to the pre-existing embryo, so it is with these also, except that in the former case this happens immediately, but in the latter when the embryo has become enlarged; for then they are in a similar state to the monotocous animals.
ὁμοίως δὲ διὰ τὸ τὸν ἄνθρωπον φύσει πολυτόκον εἶναι, καὶ περιεῖναί τι τῷ μεγέθει τῆς ὑστέρας καὶ τοῦ περιττώματος, μὴ μέντοι τοσοῦτον ὥστε ἕτερον ἐκτρέφειν, μόνα τῶν ζῴων ὀχείαν ἐπιδέχονται κυοῦντα γυνὴ καὶ ἵππος, ἡ μὲν διὰ τὴν εἰρημένην αἰτίαν, ἡ δ᾽ ἵππος διά τε τὴν τῆς φύσεως στερρότητα καὶ τὸ περιεῖναί τι τῆς ὑστέρας μέγεθος, πλέον μὲν ἢ τῷ ἑνί, ἔλαττον δὲ ἢ ὥστε ἄλλο ἐπικυΐσκεσθαι τέλειον.
And similarly, because man is by nature polytocous, and there is some surplus in the size of the uterus and of the residue, though not so much as to bring another embryo to maturity, woman and horse are the only animals that admit coitus while pregnant—the former owing to the cause mentioned, and the horse owing to the barrenness of her nature and because there is some surplus in the size of her uterus, more indeed than for one embryo, but less than to undergo a complete superfetation of another.
ἔστι δὲ φύσει ἀφροδισιαστικὸν διὰ τὸ ταὐτὸ πεπονθέναι τοῖς στερροῖς· ἐκεῖνά τε γὰρ τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐστὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ γίνεσθαι κάθαρσιν (τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶν ὥσπερ τοῖς ἄρρεσι τὸ ἀφροδισιάσαι) καὶ ἵπποι αἱ θήλειαι ἥκιστα προΐενται κάθαρσιν.
And she is by nature prone to sexual desire, because she is in the same condition as those that are barren; for those animals are in that state because they undergo no discharge (and this discharge in females corresponds to sexual intercourse in males), and female horses release the least discharge of all.
ἐν πᾶσι δὲ τοῖς ζῳοτοκοῦσι τὰ στερρὰ τῶν θηλέων ἀφροδισιαστικὰ διὰ τὸ παραπλησίως ἔχειν τοῖς ἄρρεσιν, ὅταν συνειλεγμένον μὲν ᾖ τὸ σπέρμα, μὴ ἀποκρινόμενον δέ.
And in all viviparous animals, barren females are prone to sexual desire because they are in a state similar to males, when the semen is accumulated but not discharged.