§5.3#3ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ψυχρὸν οὐ μόνον σκληρύνει ἀλλὰ καὶ πυκνοῖ, τὸ δὲ θερμὸν μανότερον ποιεῖ διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν δ᾽ αἰτίαν καὶ πρεσβυτέρων γιγνομένων τοῖς μὲν τρίχας ἔχουσι σκληρότεραι γίγνονται αἱ τρίχες, τοῖς δὲ πτερωτοῖς καὶ λεπιδωτοῖς τὰ πτερὰ καὶ αἱ λεπίδες.
cold not only hardens but also solidifies, whereas heat makes things rarer. And for the same reason, as they grow older, in those that have hair the hairs become harder, and in those with feathers and scales, the feathers and scales become harder.
τὰ γὰρ δέρματα γίνεται σκληρότερα καὶ παχύτερα πρεσβυτέρων γιγνομένων· ξηραίνεται γάρ, καὶ τὸ γῆράς ἐστι κατὰ τούνομα γεηρὸν διὰ τὸ ἀπολείπειν τὸ θερμὸν καὶ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ τὸ ὑγρόν.
For the skins become harder and thicker as they grow older; for they dry up, and old age, in accordance with its name, is earthy because of the departure of heat and, along with it, of moisture.
φαλακροῦνται δ᾽ ἐπιδήλως οἱ ἄνθρωποι μάλιστα τῶν ζῴων.
And humans, most of all animals, become conspicuously bald.
ἔστι δέ τι καθόλου τὸ τοιοῦτον πάθος· καὶ γὰρ τῶν φυτῶν τὰ μὲν ἀείφυλλα τὰ δὲ φυλλοβολεῖ, καὶ τῶν ὀρνίθων οἱ φωλεύοντες ἀποβάλλουσι τὰ πτερά.
But this kind of affection is something general; for indeed of plants, some are evergreen while others shed their leaves, and of birds, those that hibernate shed their feathers.
τοιοῦτον δέ τι πάθος καὶ ἡ φαλακρότης ἐστὶν ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅσοις συμβαίνει φαλακροῦσθαι·
And baldness in humans, in those whom it happens to become bald, is an affection of this kind.
κατὰ μέρος μὲν γὰρ ἀπορρεῖ καὶ τὰ φύλλα τοῖς φυτοῖς πᾶσι καὶ τὰ πτερὰ καὶ αἱ τρίχες τοῖς ἔχουσιν, ὅταν δ᾽ ἀθρόον γένηται τὸ πάθος, λαμβάνει τὰς εἰρημένας ἐπωνυμίας· φαλακροῦσθαί τε γὰρ λέγεται καὶ φυλλορροεῖν [ καὶ πτερορροεῖν].
For indeed, partially, the leaves fall in all plants, and the feathers and hairs in those that have them; but when the affection occurs all at once, it receives the aforementioned names: for it is said to become bald, to shed leaves, [and to shed feathers].
αἴτιον δὲ τοῦ πάθους ἔνδεια ὑγρότητος θερμῆς, τοιοῦτον δὲ μάλιστα τῶν ὑγρῶν τὸ λιπαρόν· διὸ καὶ τῶν φυτῶν τὰ λιπαρὰ ἀείφυλλα μᾶλλον.
And the cause of the affection is a lack of hot moisture, and of moist things the oily is most of this kind; therefore, of plants, those that are oily are more evergreen.
ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τούτων ἐν ἄλλοις τὸ αἴτιον λεκτέον· καὶ γὰρ ἄλλα συναίτια τοῦ τοιούτου πάθους αὐτοῖς.
But concerning these, the cause must be stated in other places; for indeed there are other co-causes of this kind of affection for them.
γίνεται δὲ τοῖς μὲν φυτοῖς ἐν τῷ χειμῶνι τὸ πάθος (αὕτη γὰρ ἡ μεταβολὴ κυριωτέρα τῆς ἡλικίας), καὶ τοῖς φωλεύουσι δὲ τῶν ζῴων (καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα ἧττον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑγρὰ καὶ θερμὰ τὴν φύσιν ἐστίν)· οἱ δ᾽ ἄνθρωποι ταῖς ἡλικίαις χειμῶνα καὶ θέρος ἄγουσιν.
And for plants, the affection occurs in winter (for this change is more authoritative than their age), and also for hibernating animals (for these are by nature less moist and hot than humans); but humans experience winter and summer in their ages.
διὸ πρὶν ἀφροδισιάζειν οὐ γίνεται φαλακρὸς οὐδείς· τότε δὲ τοῖς τοιούτοις τὴν φύσιν μᾶλλον.
Therefore, before engaging in sexual intercourse, no one becomes bald; but at that time, those who are of such a nature become so more.
φύσει γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἐγκέφαλος ψυχρότατον τοῦ σώματος, ὁ δ᾽ ἀφροδισιασμὸς καταψύχει· καθαρᾶς γὰρ καὶ φυσικῆς θερμότητος ἀπόκρισίς ἐστιν.
For by nature the brain is the coldest part of the body, and sexual intercourse cools it; for it is a secretion of pure and natural heat.
εὐλόγως οὖν ὁ ἐγκέφαλος αἰσθάνεται πρῶτον· τὰ γὰρ ἀσθενῆ καὶ φαύλως ἔχοντα μικρᾶς αἰτίας καὶ ῥοπῆς ἐστίν.
Reasonably, then, the brain is the first to feel it; for things that are weak and in a bad state are susceptible to a small cause and turn.
ὥστ᾽ ἄν τις ἀναλογίσηται ὅτι αὐτός τε ὀλιγόθερμος ὁ ἐγκέφαλος, ἔτι δ᾽ ἀναγκαῖον τὸ πέριξ δέρμα τοιοῦτον εἶναι μᾶλλον, καὶ τούτου τὴν τῶν τριχῶν φύσιν, ὅσῳ πλεῖστον ἀφέστηκεν, εὐλόγως ἂν δόξειε τοῖς σπερματικοῖς περὶ ταύτην τὴν ἡλικίαν συμβαίνειν φαλακροῦσθαι.
So that if one considers that the brain itself has little heat, and further that the surrounding skin must consequently be even more of this kind, and the nature of the hairs on it, inasmuch as it is furthest removed, it would reasonably seem to happen that those who produce semen become bald around this age.
διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν δ᾽ αἰτίαν καὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς τὸ πρόσθιον μόνον γίνονται φαλακροὶ καὶ τῶν ζῴων οἱ ἄνθρωποι μόνοι, τὸ μὲν πρόσθιον, ὅτι ἐνταῦθα ὁ ἐγκέφαλος, τῶν δὲ ζῴων μόνον, ὅτι πολὺ πλεῖστον ἔχει ἐγκέφαλον καὶ μάλιστα ὑγρὸν ἄνθρωπος.
And for the same reason they become bald only on the front part of the head, and of animals humans alone; on the front part, because the brain is there, and of animals alone, because human has by far the most and the moistest brain.
καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες οὐ φαλακροῦνται· παραπλησία γὰρ ἡ φύσις τῇ τῶν παιδίων· ἄγονα γὰρ σπερματικῆς ἐκκρίσεως ἀμφότερα.
And women do not become bald, for their nature is similar to that of children; for both are incapable of secreting semen.
καὶ εὐνοῦχος οὐ γίνεται φαλακρὸς διὰ τὸ εἰς τὸ θῆλυ μεταβάλλειν.
And a eunuch does not become bald because of changing into the female state.
καὶ τὰς ὑστερογενεῖς τρίχας ἢ οὐ φύουσιν ἢ ἀποβάλλουσιν, ἂν τύχωσιν ἔχοντες, οἱ εὐνοῦχοι, πλὴν τῆς ἥβης· καὶ γὰρ αἱ γυναῖκες τὰς μὲν οὐκ ἔχουσι, τὰς δ᾽ ἐπὶ τῇ ἥβῃ φύουσιν.
And eunuchs either do not grow post-natal hairs or lose them if they happen to have them, except for those on the pubes; for indeed women do not have the former, but grow those on the pubes.
ἡ δὲ πήρωσις αὕτη ἐκ τοῦ ἄρρενος εἰς τὸ θῆλυ μεταβολή ἐστιν.
And this mutilation is a change from male to female.
τοῦ δὲ τὰ μὲν φωλεύοντα πάλιν δασύνεσθαι καὶ τὰ φυλλοβολήσαντα πάλιν φύειν φύλλα, τοῖς δὲ φαλακροῖς μὴ ἀναφύεσθαι πάλιν, αἴτιον ὅτι τοῖς μὲν αἱ ὧραι τροπαί εἰσι τοῦ σώματος μᾶλλον, ὥστ᾽ ἐπεὶ μεταβάλλουσιν αὗται, μεταβάλλει καὶ τὸ φύειν καὶ τὸ ἀποβάλλειν τοὺς μὲν τὰ πτερὰ καὶ τὰς τρίχας, τὰ δὲ φύλλα τὰ φυτά.
And the cause of the fact that hibernating animals become hairy again and those that have shed leaves grow leaves again, whereas in those who are bald hair does not grow again, is that for them the seasons are rather the turnings of the body, so that when these change, there changes also the growing and shedding, of feathers and hairs for the former, and of leaves for the plants.
τοῖς δ᾽ ἀνθρώποις κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν γίνεται χειμὼν καὶ θέρος καὶ ἔαρ καὶ μετόπωρον, ὥστ᾽ ἐπεὶ αἱ ἡλικίαι οὐ μεταβάλλουσιν, οὐδὲ τὰ πάθη τὰ διὰ ταύτας μεταβάλλει, καίπερ τῆς αἰτίας ὁμοίας οὔσης.
But for humans, winter, summer, spring, and autumn occur in accordance with their age, so that since ages do not change back, neither do the affections due to them change, although the cause is similar.
καὶ περὶ μὲν τἆλλα πάθη τὰ τῶν τριχῶν σχεδὸν εἴρηται.
And concerning the other affections of the hairs, it has been nearly discussed.