§3.11#1Ἡ δὲ φύσις τῆς τριχός ἐστι σχιστή.
The nature of hair is splittable.
Τῷ μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἧττον διαφέρουσι πρὸς ἀλλήλας.
And they differ from one another by the more and the less.
Ἔνιαι δὲ τῇ σκληρότητι μεταβαίνουσαι κατὰ μικρὸν οὐκέτι θριξὶν ἐοίκασιν ἀλλ’ ἀκάνθαις, οἷον αἱ τῶν ἐχίνων τῶν χερσαίων, παραπλησίως τοῖς ὄνυξιν· καὶ γὰρ τὸ τῶν ὀνύχων γένος ἐν ἐνίοις τῶν ζῴων οὐδὲν διαφέρει διὰ τὴν σκληρότητα τῶν ὀστῶν.
Some, transitioning gradually in hardness, no longer resemble hairs but rather spines, such as those of land hedgehogs, in a manner very similar to claws; for indeed, the class of claws in some animals does not differ at all from bones because of their hardness.
Δέρμα δὲ πάντων λεπτότατον ἄνθρωπος ἔχει κατὰ λόγον τοῦ μεγέθους.
Man has the thinnest skin of all animals in proportion to his size.
Ἔνεστι δ’ ἐν τοῖς δέρμασι πᾶσι γλισχρότης μυξώδης, ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἐλάττων ἐν δὲ τοῖς πλείων, οἷον ἐν τοῖς τῶν βοῶν, ἐξ ἦς ποιοῦσι τὴν κόλλαν· ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ καὶ ἐξ ἰχθύων ποιοῦσι κόλλαν.
In all skins there is present a mucous stickiness, in some less and in others more, as for example in that of oxen, from which they make glue; and in some places they also make glue from fish.
Ἀναίσθητον δὲ τὸ δέρμα τεμνόμενόν ἐστι καθ’ αὑτό· μάλιστα δὲ τοιοῦτον τὸ ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ, διὰ τὸ τὸ μεταξὺ ἀσαρκότατον εἶναι πρὸς τὸ ὀστοῦν.
The skin by itself is insensitive when cut; and this is especially the case with that on the head, because the space between it and the bone is most devoid of flesh.
Ὅπου δ’ ἂν ᾖ καθ’ αὑτὸ δέρμα, ἂν διακοπῇ, οὐ συμφύεται, οἷον γνάθου τὸ λεπτὸν καὶ ἀκροποσθία καὶ βλεφαρίς.
Wherever there is skin by itself, if it is cut through, it does not grow together again, as for example the thin part of the jaw, the prepuce, and the eyelid.
Τῶν συνεχῶν δὲ τὸ δέρμα ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς ζῴοις, καὶ ταύτῃ διαλείπει ᾗ καὶ οἱ κατὰ φύσιν πόροι ἐξικμάζονται, καὶ κατὰ τὸ στόμα καὶ ὄνυχας.
The skin is one of the continuous parts in all animals, and it is interrupted in those places where the natural passages discharge secretions, and at the mouth and the claws.
Δέρμα μὲν οὖν πάντ’ ἔχει τὰ ἔναιμα ζῷα, τρίχας δ’ οὐ πάντα, ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ εἴρηται πρότερον.
Therefore, all red-blooded animals have skin, but not all have hair, but as has been said before.
Μεταβάλλουσι δὲ τὰς χρόας γηρασκόντων καὶ λευκαίνονται ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ· τοῖς δ’ ἄλλοις γίνεται μέν, οὐκ ἐπιδήλως δὲ σφόδρα, πλὴν ἐν ἵππῳ.
And they change their colors as they grow old, and become white in man; while in other animals this happens indeed, but not very conspicuously, except in the horse.
Λευκαίνεται δὲ καὶ ἀπ’ ἄκρας ἡ θρίξ.
The hair also becomes white starting from the tip.
Αἱ δὲ πλεῖσται εὐθὺς φύονται λευκαὶ τῶν πολιῶν.
But most of the grey hairs grow white from the very start.
Ἧι καὶ δῆλον ὅτι οὐχ αὑότης ἐστὶν ἡ πολιότης, ὥσπερ τινές φασιν· οὐδὲν γὰρ φύεται εὐθὺς αὗον.
From which it is also clear that greyness is not dryness, as some say; for nothing grows dry from the very start.
Ἐν δὲ τῷ ἐξανθήματι ὃ καλεῖται λεύκη, πᾶσαι πολιαὶ γίγνονται· ἤδη δέ τισι κάμνουσι μὲν πολιαὶ ἐγένοντο, ὑγιασθεῖσι δὲ ἀπορρυεισῶν μέλαιναι ἀνεφύησαν.
In the eruption which is called white leprosy, all the hairs become grey; and indeed, in some people while they were ill they became grey, but when they recovered, after the hairs had fallen out, black ones grew back.
Γίνονταί τε μᾶλλον πολιαὶ σκεπαζομένων τῶν τριχῶν ἢ διαπνεομένων.
And hairs become grey more when they are covered than when they are exposed to the air.
Πρῶτον δὲ πολιοῦνται οἱ κρόταφοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ τὰ πρόσθια πρότερα τῶν ὀπισθίων· τελευταῖον δ’ ἡ ἥβη.
In men, first the temples become grey, and the front parts earlier than the back; and the pubes last of all.
Εἰσὶ δὲ τῶν τριχῶν αἱ μὲν συγγενεῖς, αἱ δ’ ὕστερον κατὰ τὰς ἡλικίας γινόμεναι ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ μόνῳ τῶν ζῴων, συγγενεῖς μὲν αἱ ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ καὶ ταῖς βλεφαρίσι καὶ ταῖς ὀφρύσιν, ὑστερογενεῖς δὲ αἱ ἐπὶ τῆς ἥβης πρῶτον, ἔπειτα αἱ ἐπὶ τῆς μασχάλης, τρίται δ’ αἱ ἐπὶ τοῦ γενείου· ἴσοι γὰρ οἱ τόποι εἰσὶν ἐν οἷς αἱ τρίχες ἐγγίνονται αἵ τε συγγενεῖς καὶ αἱ ὑστερογενεῖς.
Of hairs, some are congenital, and others arise later according to age, which happens in man alone of all animals; congenital are those on the head, the eyelashes, and the eyebrows, and late-born are those on the pubes first, then those under the armpits, and thirdly those on the chin; for the places in which both the congenital and the late-born hairs arise correspond to one another.
Λείπουσι δὲ καὶ ῥέουσι κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν αἱ ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ μάλιστα καὶ πρῶται.
And the hairs of the head fail and shed with age, and this most of all and first.
Τούτων δὲ αἱ ἔμπροσθεν μόναι· τὰ γὰρ ὄπισθεν οὐδεὶς γίνεται φαλακρός.
And of these, only the front ones; for no one becomes bald at the back of the head.