§4.8#1Περὶ δὲ τῶν αἰσθήσεων νῦν λεκτέον· οὐ γὰρ ὁμοίως πᾶσιν ὑπάρχουσιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν πᾶσαι τοῖς δ’ ἐλάττους.
Now we must speak of the senses; for they do not belong to all animals in the same way, but some have all of them, and others fewer.
Εἰσὶ δ’ αἱ πλεῖσται, καὶ παρ’ ἃς οὐδεμία φαίνεται ἴδιος ἑτέρα, πέντε τὸν ἀριθμόν, ὄψις, ἀκοή, ὄσφρησις, γεῦσις, ἁφή.
The greatest number of them, and beyond which no other distinct sense appears, is five: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
Ἄνθρωπος μὲν οὖν καὶ τὰ ζῳοτόκα καὶ πεζά, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ ὅσα ἔναιμα καὶ ζῳοτόκα, πάντα φαίνεται ἔχοντα ταύτας πάσας, πλὴν εἴ τι πεπήρωται γένος ἕν, οἷον τὸ τῶν ἀσπαλάκων.
Now man, and the viviparous land animals, and in addition to these, all those that are red-blooded and viviparous, all appear to have all of these, unless some single class is mutilated, as for instance that of the moles.
Τοῦτο γὰρ ὄψιν οὐκ ἔχει· ὀφθαλμοὺς γὰρ ἐν μὲν τῷ φανερῷ οὐκ ἔχει, ἀφαιρεθέντος δὲ τοῦ δέρματος ὄντος παχέος ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς κατὰ τὴν χώραν τὴν ἔξω τῶν ὀμμάτων ἔσωθέν εἰσιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ διεφθαρμένοι, πάντ’ ἔχοντες ταὐτὰ τὰ μέρη τοῖς ἀληθινοῖς·
For this animal does not have sight; indeed, it has no eyes in the open, but when the skin, which is thick, is removed from the head, inside, at the place corresponding to the external position of the eyes, there are undeveloped eyes, which have all the same parts as true eyes.
ἔχουσι γὰρ τό τε μέλαν καὶ τὸ ἐντὸς τοῦ μέλανος, τὴν καλουμένην κόρην, καὶ τὸ κυκλώπιον, ἐλάττω μέντοι ταῦτα πάντα τῶν φανερῶν ὀφθαλμῶν.
For they have both the black part and that which is inside the black part, called the pupil, and the surrounding part, though all of these are smaller than those of open eyes.
Εἰς δὲ τὸ ἔξω οὐδὲν σημαίνει τούτων διὰ τὸ τοῦ δέρματος πάχος, ὡς ἐν τῇ γενέσει πηρουμένης τῆς φύσεως·
But none of these is visible on the outside because of the thickness of the skin, as if nature had been mutilated in the process of development.
εἰσὶ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου, ᾗ συνάπτει τῷ μυελῷ, δύο πόροι νευρώδεις καὶ ἰσχυροὶ παρ’ αὐτὰς τείνοντες τὰς ἕδρας τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, τελευτῶντες δ’ εἰς τοὺς ἄνω χαυλιόδοντας.
For from the brain, at the point where it connects with the spinal cord, there are two strong, nerve-like ducts extending along the very sockets of the eyes, and ending at the upper canine teeth.
Τὰ δ’ ἄλλα καὶ τῶν χρωμάτων αἴσθησιν ἔχει καὶ τῶν ψόφων, ἔτι δ’ ὀσμῆς καὶ χυμῶν.
Other animals have a sense of colours, of sounds, and also of smell and tastes.
Τὴν δὲ πέμπτην αἴσθησιν τὴν ἁφὴν καλουμένην καὶ τἆλλα πάντ’ ἔχει ζῷα.
The fifth sense, which is called touch, is possessed by all other animals as well.
Ἐν μὲν οὖν ἐνίοις καὶ τὰ αἰσθητήρια φανερώτατα ἐστί, τὰ μὲν τῶν ὀμμάτων καὶ μᾶλλον.
Now, in some animals the sense organs are very obvious, and those of the eyes especially so.
Διωρισμένον γὰρ ἔχει τὸν τόπον τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ τὸν τῆς ἀκοῆς· ἔνια μὲν γὰρ ὦτα ἔχει, ἔνια δὲ τοὺς πόρους φανερούς.
For they have the place of the eyes and that of hearing distinctly marked out; for some have ears, while others have distinct passages.
Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ ὀσφρήσεως· τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἔχει μυκτῆρας, τὰ δὲ τοὺς πόρους τοὺς τῆς ὀσφρήσεως, οἷον τὸ τῶν ὀρνίθων γένος.
It is the same with respect to smell; for some have nostrils, while others have the passages of smell, as for instance the class of birds.
Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὸ τῶν χυμῶν αἰσθητήριον τὴν γλῶτταν.
It is the same too with the tongue, the organ of taste.
Ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἐνύδροις, καλουμένοις δὲ ἰχθύσι, τὸ μὲν τῶν χυμῶν αἰσθητήριον, τὴν γλῶτταν, ἔχουσι μέν, ἔχουσι δ’ ἀμυδρῶς· ὀστώδη γὰρ καὶ οὐκ ἀπολελυμένην ἔχουσιν.
But in aquatic animals, which are called fishes, they indeed possess the tongue, the organ of taste, but they possess it indistinctly; for they have it bony and not free.
Ἀλλ’ ἐνίοις τῶν ἰχθύων ὁ οὐρανός ἐστι σαρκώδης, οἷον τῶν ποταμίων ἐν τοῖς κυπρίνοις, ὥστε τοῖς μὴ σκοπουμένοις ἀκριβῶς δοκεῖν ταύτην εἶναι γλῶτταν.
However, in some fishes the palate is fleshy, as for instance in river- carps, so that to those who do not examine carefully, this seems to be a tongue.
Ὅτι δ’ αἰσθάνονται γευόμενα, φανερόν· ἰδίοις τε γὰρ πολλὰ χαίρει χυμοῖς, καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀμίας λαμβάνουσι μάλιστα δέλεαρ καὶ τὸ τῶν πιόνων ἰχθύων, ὡς χαίροντες ἐν τῇ γεύσει καὶ ἐδωδῇ τοῖς τοιούτοις δελέασιν.
But that they perceive by tasting is clear; for many of them delight in specific tastes, and they take especially the bait of the amia and that of fat fishes, as though they delight in the taste and eating of such baits.
Τῆς δ’ ἀκοῆς καὶ τῆς ὀσφρήσεως οὐδὲν ἔχουσι φανερὸν αἰσθητήριον· ὃ γὰρ ἄν τισιν εἶναι δόξειε κατὰ τοὺς τόπους τῶν μυκτήρων, οὐδὲν περαίνει πρὸς τὸν ἐγκέφαλον, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν τυφλά, τὰ δὲ φέρει μέχρι τῶν βραγχίων.
They have no obvious organ of hearing or of smell; for that which might seem to some to be so at the position of the nostrils does not lead to the brain at all, but some of these passages are blind, while others lead as far as the gills.
Ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἀκούουσι καὶ ὀσφραίνονται, φανερόν· τούς τε γὰρ ψόφους φεύγοντα φαίνεται τοὺς μεγάλους, οἷον τὰς εἰρεσίας τῶν τριήρων, ὥστε λαμβάνεσθαι ῥᾳδίως ἐν ταῖς θαλάμαις·
But that they both hear and smell is clear; for they are seen fleeing from loud noises, such as the rowing of triremes, so that they are easily caught in their holes.
καὶ γὰρ ἂν μικρὸς ᾖ ὁ ἔξω ψόφος, ὅμως τοῖς ἐν τῷ ὑγρῷ τὴν ἀκοὴν ἔχουσι χαλεπὸς καὶ μέγας καὶ βαρὺς φαίνεται πᾶσιν.
For even if the noise outside is small, nevertheless to all those who have their hearing in the liquid, it appears disagreeable, loud, and heavy.
Ὃ συμβαίνει καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς τῶν δελφίνων θήρας· ὅταν γὰρ ἀθρόως περικυκλώσωσι τοῖς μονοξύλοις, ψοφοῦντες ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ ἀθρόους ποιοῦσιν ἐξοκέλλειν φεύγοντας εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ λαμβάνουσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ ψόφου καρηβαροῦντας.
This is what happens also in the hunting of dolphins; for when they surround them in a crowd with their canoes, by making a noise from them in the sea, they cause them to run aground in a body as they flee to the land, and they capture them while they are suffering from headache because of the noise.
Καίτοι οὐδ’ οἱ δελφῖνες τῆς ἀκοῆς οὐδὲν φανερὸν ἔχουσιν αἰσθητήριον.
And yet even dolphins do not have any obvious organ of hearing.
Ἔτι δ’ ἐν ταῖς θήραις τῶν ἰχθύων ὅτι μάλιστα εὐλαβοῦνται ψόφον ποιεῖν ἢ κώπης ἢ δικτύων οἱ περὶ τὴν θήραν ταύτην ὄντες· ἀλλ’ ὅταν κατανοήσωσιν ἔν τινι τόπῳ πολλοὺς ἀθρόους ὄντας, ἐκ τοσούτου τόπου τεκμαιρόμενοι καθιᾶσι τὰ δίκτυα, ὅπως μήτε κώπης μήτε τῆς ῥύμης τῆς ἁλιάδος ἀφίκηται πρὸς τὸν τόπον ἐκεῖνον ὁ ψόφος·
Furthermore, in the hunting of fishes, those engaged in this pursuit are extremely careful not to make any noise either with the oar or with the nets; but when they perceive that many are gathered together in some place, they let down their nets, estimating the distance from so far away that the noise of neither the oar nor the rush of the fishing boat may reach that place.
παραγγέλλουσί τε πᾶσι τοῖς ναύταις ὅτι μάλιστα σιγῇ πλεῖν, μέχρι περ ἂν συγκυκλώσωνται.
And they command all the sailors to row with the greatest possible silence, until they have surrounded them.
Ἐνίοτε δ’ ὅταν βούλωνται συνδραμεῖν, ταὐτὸν ποιοῦσιν ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῆς τῶν δελφίνων θήρας· ψοφοῦσι γὰρ λίθοις, ἵνα φοβηθέντες συνθέωσιν εἰς ταὐτὸ καὶ τοῖς δικτύοις οὕτω περιβάλλωνται.
Sometimes when they want them to run together, they do the very same thing as in the hunting of dolphins; for they make a noise with stones, so that being frightened, they may run together into the same place and thus be enclosed in the nets.
Καὶ πρὶν μὲν συγκλεῖσαι, καθάπερ εἴρηται, κωλύουσι ψοφεῖν, ὅταν δὲ κυκλώσωσι, κελεύουσιν ἤδη βοᾶν καὶ ψοφεῖν· τὸν γὰρ ψόφον καὶ τὸν θόρυβον ἀκούοντες ἐμπίπτουσι διὰ τὸν φόβον.
And before enclosing them, as has been said, they forbid making a noise, but when they have surrounded them, they then order them to shout and make a noise; for hearing the noise and clamour, they fall into the nets through fear.
Ἔτι δ’ ὅταν ἴδωσιν οἱ ἁλιεῖς ἐκ πάνυ πολλοῦ νεμομένους ἀθρόους πολλοὺς ἐν ταῖς γαλήναις καὶ εὐδίαις ἐπιπολάζοντας, καὶ βουληθῶσιν ἰδεῖν τὰ μεγέθη καὶ τί τὸ γένος αὐτῶν, ἂν μὲν ἀψοφητὶ προσπλεύσωσι, λανθάνουσι καὶ καταλαμβάνουσιν ἐπιπολάζοντας ἔτι, ἐὰν δέ τις τύχῃ ψοφήσας πρότερον, φανεροί εἰσι φεύγοντες.
Furthermore, when the fishermen see from a very great distance many of them feeding in a crowd and floating on the surface in calm and fair weather, and wish to see their sizes and what class they belong to, if they sail up without making a noise, they escape notice and catch them while still floating, but if anyone happens to have made a noise beforehand, they are clearly seen to flee.
Ἔτι δ’ ἐν τοῖς ποταμοῖς εἰσὶν ἰχθύδια ἄττα ἃ καλοῦσί τινες κόττους· ταῦτα θηρεύουσί τινες διὰ τὸ ὑπὸ ταῖς πέτραις ὑποδεδυκέναι κόπτοντες τὰς πέτρας λίθοις· τὰ δ’ ἐκπίπτει παραφερόμενα ὡς ἀκούοντα καὶ καρηβαροῦντα ὑπὸ τοῦ ψόφου.
Furthermore, in rivers there are certain small fishes which some call cottus; these some people hunt, because they have crept under the stones, by striking the stones with pebbles, and they fall out, drifting along, as though they heard and were made dizzy by the noise.
Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἀκούουσιν, ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων ἐστὶ φανερόν·
So then, that they hear is clear from such facts.