§4.9Ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν δ᾽ ἡ γένεσίς ἐστι τοῖς ζῴοις πᾶσιν ἡ κατὰ φύσιν διὰ τὸ τὰ ἄνω τοῦ ὀμφαλοῦ μείζω ἔχειν ἢ τὰ κάτω.
Birth head-first is that which is according to nature for all animals, because they have the parts above the umbilical cord larger than those below.
καθάπερ οὖν ἐν ζυγοῖς ἠρτημένα ἐξ αὐτοῦ ῥέπει ἐπὶ τὸ βάρος.
Therefore, just as in scales suspended from it, it inclines towards the weight.
ἔχει δὲ τὰ μείζω πλεῖον βάρος.
And the larger parts have more weight.
§4.10οἱ δὲ χρόνοι τῆς κυήσεως ἑκάστῳ τῶν ζῴων ὡρισμένοι τυγχάνουσιν ὡς μὲν ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ κατὰ τοὺς βίους.
And the times of gestation for each of the animals happen to be defined, for the most part, according to their lives.
τῶν γὰρ χρονίων καὶ τὰς γενέσεις εὔλογον εἶναι χρονιωτέρας.
For it is reasonable that the generations of those that are long-lived are also longer in time.
οὐ μὴν τοῦτό γ᾽ ἐστὶν αἴτιον, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ τοῦτο συμβέβηκεν· τὰ γὰρ μείζω καὶ τελειότερα τῶν ἐναίμων ζῴων καὶ ζῶσι πολὺν χρόνον, οὐ μέντοι τὰ μείζω πάντα μακροβιώτερα.
However, this is certainly not the cause, but this has happened for the most part; for the larger and more perfect of red-blooded animals also live a long time, yet not all larger animals are longer-lived.
πάντων γὰρ ἄνθρωπος πλείω ζῇ χρόνον, πλὴν ἐλέφαντος, ὅσων ἀξιόπιστον ἔχομεν τὴν πεῖραν· ἔλαττον δ᾽ ἐστὶ τὸ γένος τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἢ τὸ τῶν λοφούρων καὶ πολλῶν ἄλλων.
For of all animals, man lives the longest time, except for the elephant, among those of which we have reliable experience; but the genus of men is smaller than that of the crested animals and many others.
αἴτιον δὲ τοῦ μὲν εἶναι μακρόβιον ὁτιοῦν ζῷον τὸ κεκρᾶσθαι παραπλησίως πρὸς τὸν περιέχοντα ἀέρα, καὶ δι᾽ ἄλλα συμπτώματ᾽ ἄττα φυσικά, περὶ ὧν ὕστερον ἐροῦμεν, τῶν δὲ χρόνων τῶν περὶ τὴν κύησιν τὸ μέγεθος τῶν γεννωμένων.
And the cause of any animal being long-lived is its being tempered similarly to the surrounding air, and because of certain other natural accidents, about which we shall speak later; but the cause of the times concerning gestation is the size of the offspring.
οὐ γὰρ ῥᾴδιον ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ λαμβάνειν τὴν τελείωσιν τὰς μεγάλας συστάσεις οὔτε ζῴων οὔτε τῶν ἄλλων ὡς εἰπεῖν οὐθενός.
For it is not easy for large systems to receive their completion in a short time, whether of animals or of almost anything else.
διόπερ ἵπποι καὶ τὰ συγγενῆ ζῷα τούτοις ἐλάττω ζῶντα χρόνον κύει πλείω χρόνον· τῶν μὲν γὰρ ἐνιαύσιος ὁ τόκος, τῶν δὲ δεκάμηνος ὁ πλεῖστος.
Therefore horses and the animals related to them, though living a shorter time, are pregnant for a longer time; for in some the birth is after a year, and in others ten months at most.
διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν δ᾽ αἰτίαν πολυχρόνιος καὶ ὁ τῶν ἐλεφάντων ἐστὶ τόκος· διετὴς γὰρ ἡ κύησις διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τοῦ μεγέθους.
For the same cause, the birth of elephants is also long-lasting; for the gestation is for two years because of the excess of their size.
εὐλόγως δὲ πάντων οἱ χρόνοι καὶ τῶν κυήσεων καὶ τῶν γενέσεων καὶ τῶν βίων μετρεῖσθαι βούλονται κατὰ φύσιν περιόδοις.
But it is reasonable that the times of all gestations, births, and lives wish to be measured according to natural periods.
λέγω δὲ περίοδον ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτα καὶ μῆνα καὶ ἐνιαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς χρόνους τοὺς μετρουμένους τούτοις, ἔτι δὲ τὰς τῆς σελήνης περιόδους.
And by period I mean day and night, month, year, and the times measured by these, and furthermore the periods of the moon.
εἰσὶ δὲ περίοδοι σελήνης πανσέληνοί· τε καὶ φθίσεις καὶ τῶν μεταξὺ χρόνων αἱ διχοτομίαι· κατὰ γὰρ ταύτας συμβάλλει πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον· ὁ γὰρ μεὶς κοινὴ περίοδός ἐστιν ἀμφοτέρων.
And the periods of the moon are the full moons and the wanings, and the half-moons of the times between; for it is during these that it forms a junction with the sun; for the month is a common period of both.
ἔστι δὲ ἡ σελήνη ἀρχὴ διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον κοινωνίαν καὶ τὴν μετάληψιν τὴν τοῦ φωτός· γίνεται γὰρ ὥσπερ ἄλλος ἥλιος ἐλάττων· διὸ συμβάλλεται εἰς πάσας τὰς γενέσεις καὶ τελειώσεις.
And the moon is a principle because of its association with the sun and its sharing of light; for it becomes as it were another, smaller sun; wherefore it contributes to all generations and completions.
καὶ γὰρ θερμότητες καὶ ψύξεις μέχρι συμμετρίας τινὸς ποιοῦσι τὰς γενέσεις, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὰς φθοράς.
For indeed heat and cold produce generations up to a certain symmetry, and after this, destructions.
τούτων δ᾽ ἔχουσι τὸ πέρας καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τῆς τελευτῆς αἱ τούτων κινήσεις τῶν ἄστρων.
And the movements of these stars hold the limit of both the beginning and the end of these.
ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ θάλατταν καὶ πᾶσαν ὁρῶμεν τὴν τῶν ὑγρῶν φύσιν ἱσταμένην καὶ μεταβάλλουσαν κατὰ τὴν τῶν πνευμάτων κίνησιν καὶ στάσιν, τὸν δ᾽ ἀέρα καὶ τὰ πνεύματα κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ἡλίου καὶ τῆς σελήνης περίοδον, οὕτω καὶ τὰ ἐκ τούτων φυόμενα καὶ τὰ ἐν τούτοις ἀκολουθεῖν ἀναγκαῖον.
For just as we see both the sea and the whole nature of liquids standing and changing according to the movement and standstill of the winds, and the air and the winds according to the period of the sun and the moon, so also it is necessary for the things that grow from these and those that are in them to follow.
κατὰ λόγον γὰρ ἀκολουθεῖν καὶ τὰς τῶν ἀκυροτέρων περιόδους ταῖς τῶν κυριωτέρων.
For it is according to reason that the periods of the less dominant things should follow those of the more dominant.
βίος γάρ τις καὶ πνεύματός ἐστι καὶ γένεσις καὶ φθίσις.
For there is also a certain life, generation, and decay of the wind.
τῆς δὲ τῶν ἄστρων τούτων περιφορᾶς τάχ᾽ ἂν ἕτεραί τινες εἶεν ἀρχαί.
And of the revolution of these stars there might perhaps be some other principles.
βούλεται μὲν οὖν ἡ φύσις τοῖς τούτων ἀριθμοῖς ἀριθμεῖν τὰς γενέσεις καὶ τὰς τελευτάς, οὐκ ἀκριβοῖ δὲ διά τε τὴν τῆς ὕλης ἀοριστίαν καὶ διὰ τὸ γίνεσθαι πολλὰς ἀρχάς, αἳ τὰς γενέσεις τὰς κατὰ φύσιν καὶ τὰς φθορὰς ἐμποδίζουσαι πολλάκις αἴτιαι τῶν παρὰ φύσιν συμπιπτόντων εἰσίν.
Nature, therefore, wishes to number generations and ends by the numbers of these, but it does not make them precise, both because of the indefiniteness of matter and because of many principles coming to be, which, by hindering generations according to nature and destructions, are often the causes of things happening contrary to nature.
Περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς ἔσωθεν τροφῆς τῶν ζῴων καὶ τῆς θύραζε γενέσεως εἴρηται, καὶ χωρὶς περὶ ἑκάστου καὶ κοινῇ περὶ πάντων.
Now, concerning the internal nourishment of animals and their birth outwards, both individually for each and in common for all, it has been discussed.
Ε.
E.