§5.3#2καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοῖς ἀνθρώποις αἱ ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς τρίχες μακρόταται· ὁ γὰρ ἐγκέφαλος ὑγρὸς καὶ ψυχοὸς ὢν πολλὴν παρέχει δαψίλειαν τοῦ ὑγροῦ εὐθύτριχα δὲ καὶ οὐλότριχα γίνεται διὰ τὴν ἐν ταῖς θριξὶν ἀναθυμίασιν.
for this reason, the hairs on the head are the longest in humans; for the brain, being moist and cold, provides a great abundance of moisture. And straight-haired or curly-haired conditions arise because of the exhalation in the hairs.
ἂν μὲν γὰρ ᾖ καπνώδης, θερμὴ οὖσα καὶ ξηρὰ οὔλην τὴν τρίχα ποιεῖ.
For if it is smoky, being hot and dry, it makes the hair curly.
κάμπτεται γὰρ διὰ τὸ δύο φέρεσθαι φοράς· τὸ μὲν γὰρ γεῶδες κάτω, τὸ δὲ θερμὸν ἄνω φέρεται.
For it bends because it is carried in two directions; for the earthy matter is carried downward, and the hot matter upward.
εὐκάμπτου δ᾽ ὄντος δι᾽ ἀσθένειαν στρέφεται· τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐστὶν οὐλότης τριχός.
And since it is easily bent due to weakness, it twists; and this is the curliness of hair.
ἐνδέχεται μὲν οὖν ὅτω λαβεῖν τὴν αἰτίαν, ἐνδέχεται δὲ καὶ διὰ τὸ ὀλίγον ἔχειν τὸ ὑγρόν, πολὺ δὲ τὸ γεῶδες, ὑπὸ τοῦ περιέχοντος ξηραινομένας συσπᾶσθαι.
It is possible, then, to understand the cause in this way, but it is also possible that, because of having little moisture and much earthy matter, they are contracted, being dried up by the surrounding environment.
κάμπτεται γὰρ τὸ εὐθύ, ἐὰν ἐξατμίζηται, καὶ συντρέχει ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ πυρὸς καομένη ἡ θρίξ, ὡς οὔσης τῆς οὐλότητος συσπάσεως δι᾽ ἔνδειαν ὑγροῦ ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ περιέχοντος θερμότητος.
For what is straight bends if it is evaporated, and the hair contracts just like when it is burned on fire, on the ground that curliness is a contraction due to the lack of moisture caused by the heat of the surrounding environment.
σημεῖον δ᾽ ὅτι καὶ σκληρότεραι αἱ οὖλαι τρίχες τῶν εὐθειῶν εἰσίν· τὸ γὰρ ξηρὸν σκληρόν.
And a sign of this is that curly hairs are also harder than straight ones; for what is dry is hard.
εὐθύτριχα δὲ ὅσα ὑγρότητ᾽ ἔχει πολλήν· ῥέον γὰρ ἀλλ᾽ οὐ στάζον προέρχεται ἐν ταύταις τὸ ὑγρόν.
And those are straight-haired that have much moisture; for the moisture in these proceeds flowing, rather than dripping.
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οἱ μὲν ἐν τῷ Πόντῳ Σκύθαι καὶ Θρᾷκες εὐθύτριχες· καὶ γὰρ αὐτοὶ ὑγροὶ καὶ ὁ περιέχων αὐτοὺς ἀὴρ ὑγρός· Αἰθίοπες δὲ καὶ οἱ ἐν τοῖς θερμοῖς οὐλότριχες· ξηροὶ γὰρ οἱ ἐγκέφαλοι καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ ὁ περιέχων.
And for this reason, the Scythians in Pontus and the Thracians are straight-haired; for both they themselves are moist and the surrounding air is moist; but the Ethiopians and those in hot regions are curly-haired; for both their brains are dry and the surrounding air is dry.
ἔστι δ᾽ ἔνια τῶν παχυδέρμων λεπτότριχα διὰ τὴν εἰρημένην αἰτίαν πρότερον· ὅσῳ γὰρ ἂν λεπτότεροι οἱ πόροι ὦσιν, τοσούτῳ λεπτοτέρας ἀναγκαῖον γίνεσθαι τὰς τρίχας.
And some of the thick-skinned animals are thin-haired for the reason mentioned before; for by how much the pores are narrower, by so much the hairs must necessarily become thinner.
διὸ τὸ τῶν προβάτων γένος τοιαύτας ἔχει τὰς τρίχας· τὸ γὰρ ἔριον τριχῶν πλῆθός ἐστιν.
Therefore, the genus of sheep has such hairs; for wool is a multitude of hairs.
ἔστι δ᾽ ἔνια τῶν ζῴων ἃ μαλακὴν μὲν ἔχει τὴν τρίχα, ἧττον δὲ λεπτήν, οἷον τὸ τῶν δασυπόδων πρὸς τὸ τῶν προβάτων πέπονθεν.
And there are some animals that have soft hair, but less thin, as is the case of the hares in relation to the sheep.
τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων ἐπιπολῆς ἡ θρὶξ τοῦ δέρματος.
For in such animals, the hair is on the surface of the skin.
διὸ μῆκος οὐκ ἴσχει, ἀλλὰ συμβαίνει παραπλήσιον ὥσπερ τὰ ἀπὸ λίνων ξυόμενα· καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα μῆκος μὲν οὐθὲν ἴσχει, μαλακὰ δ᾽ ἐστὶ καὶ οὐ δέχεται πλοκήν.
Therefore, it does not acquire length, but something happens very similar to what is scraped from linen; for these indeed acquire no length, but are soft and do not admit of weaving.
τὰ δ᾽ ἐν τοῖς ψυχροῖς πρόβατα τοὐναντίον πέπονθε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· οἱ μὲν γὰρ Σκύθαι μαλακότριχες, τὰ δὲ πρόβατα τὰ Σαυροματικὰ σκληρότριχα.
And the sheep in cold places have experienced the opposite to humans; for the Scythians indeed are soft-haired, but the Sauromatian sheep are hard-haired.
τούτου δ᾽ αἴτιον ταὐτὸ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγρίων πάντων.
And the cause of this is the same as in the case of all wild animals.
ἡ γὰρ ψυχρότης σκληρύνει διὰ τὸ ξηραίνειν πηγνύουσα· ἐκθλιβομένου γὰρ τοῦ θερμοῦ συνεξατμίζει τὸ ὑγρόν, καὶ γίνονται καὶ αἱ τρίχες καὶ τὸ δέρμα γεῶδες καὶ σκληρόν.
For cold hardens by drying up and freezing; for as the heat is squeezed out, the moisture evaporates along with it, and both the hairs and the skin become earthy and hard.
αἴτιον δὲ τοῖς μὲν ἀγρίοις ἡ θυραυλία, τοῖς δ᾽ ὁ τόπος τοιοῦτος ὤν.
And the cause for the wild animals is living in the open air, and for the others, the place being of such a nature.
σημεῖον δὲ καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ τῶν ποντίων ἐχίνων συμβαῖνον, οἷς χρῶνται πρὸς τὰς στραγγουρίας.
And a sign of this is also what happens in the case of the sea urchins, which people use against strangury.
καὶ γὰρ οὗτοι διὰ τὸ ἐν ψυχρᾷ εἶναι τῇ θαλάττῃ διὰ τὸ βάθος (καθ᾽ ἐξήκοντα γὰρ καὶ ἔτι πλειόνων γίγνονται ὀργυιῶν), αὐτοὶ μὲν μικροί, τὰς δὲ ἀκάνθας μεγάλας ἔχουσι καὶ σκληράς, μεγάλας μὲν διὰ τὸ ἐνταῦθα τὴν τοῦ σώματος τετράφθαι αὔξησιν (ὀλιγόθερμοι γὰρ ὄντες καὶ οὐ πέττοντες τὴν τροφὴν πολὺ περίττωμα ἔχουσιν, αἱ δ᾽ ἄκανθαι καὶ αἱ τρίχες καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα γίνονται ἐκ περιττώματος), σκληρὰς δὲ καὶ λελιθωμένας διὰ τὴν ψυχρότητα καὶ τὸν πάγον.
For these too, because of being in a cold sea due to the depth (for they occur at sixty fathoms and even more), are themselves small, but have large and hard spines; large indeed because the growth of the body is directed to that part (for having little heat and not concocting the food, they have much residue, and spines and hairs and such things arise from residue), and hard and petrified because of the coldness and freezing.
τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον καὶ τἆλλα τὰ φυόμενα σκληρότερα συμβαίνει γίνεσθαι καὶ γεωδέστερα καὶ λιθωδέστερα τὰ ἐν τοῖς πρὸς βορᾶν τῶν πρὸς νότον καὶ τὰ προσήνεμα τῶν ἐν κοίλοις· ψύχεται γὰρ πάντα μᾶλλον, καὶ ἐξατμίζει τὸ ὑγρόν.
And in the same way, other growing things also happen to become harder, earthier, and more stony: those in northern regions compared to those in southern, and those exposed to the wind compared to those in hollows; for all these are cooled more, and the moisture evaporates.
σκληρύνει μὲν οὖν καὶ τὸ θερμὸν καὶ τὸ ψυχρόν· ἐξατμίζεσθαι γὰρ ὑπ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων συμβαίνει τὸ ὑγρόν, ὑπὸ μὲν τοῦ θερμοῦ καθ᾽ αὑτό, ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ ψυχροῦ κατὰ συμβεβηκός (μετὰ τοῦ θερμοῦ γὰρ συνεξέρχεται· οὐθὲν γὰρ ὑγρὸν ἄνευ θερμοῦ).
Now, both heat and cold harden; for it happens that moisture is evaporated by both, by heat essentially, and by cold accidentally (for it goes out together with the heat; for no moisture is without heat).