§5.31Τῶν δ’ ἐντόμων ὅσα σαρκοφάγα μὲν μή ἐστι, ζῇ δὲ χυμοῖς σαρκὸς ζώσης, οἷον οἵ τε φθεῖρες καὶ αἱ ψύλλαι καὶ κόρεις, ἐκ μὲν τῆς ὀχείας πάντα γεννᾷ τὰς καλουμένας κόνιδας, ἐκ δὲ τούτων ἕτερον οὐθὲν γίνεται πάλιν.
Among insects, those that are not flesh-eating but live on the juices of living flesh, such as lice, fleas, and bugs, all produce from copulation the so-called nits, but from these nothing else is produced in turn.
Αὐτῶν δὲ γίνονται τούτων αἱ μὲν ψύλλαι ἐξ ἐλαχίστης σηπεδόνος (ὅπου γὰρ ἂν κόπρος ξηρὰ γένηται, ἐνταῦθα συνίστανται), αἱ δὲ κόρεις ἐκ τῆς ἰκμάδος τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν ζῴων συνισταμένης ἐκτός, οἱ δὲ φθεῖρες ἐκ τῶν σαρκῶν.
But these insects themselves are produced as follows: fleas from the smallest putrefaction (for wherever dry dung is produced, there they form), bugs from the moisture that forms on the outside of animals, and lice from the flesh.
Γίνονται δ’ ὅταν μέλλωσιν, οἷον ἴονθοι μικροί, οὐκ ἔχοντες πύον· τούτους ἄν τις κεντήσῃ, ἐξέρχονται φθεῖρες.
And when they are about to be produced, they appear like small pimples, containing no pus; and if anyone pricks these, lice come out.
Ἐνίοις δὲ τοῦτο συμβαίνει τῶν ἀνθρώπων νόσημα, ὅταν ὑγρασία πολλὴ ἐν τῷ σώματι ᾖ· καὶ διεφθάρησάν τινες ἤδη τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον, ὥσπερ Ἀλκμᾶνά τέ φασι τὸν ποιητὴν καὶ Φερεκύδην τὸν Σύριον.
And in some men this happens as a disease, when there is much moisture in the body; and some have already been destroyed in this manner, just as they say of the poet Alcman and Pherecydes of Syros.
Καὶ ἐν νόσοις δέ τισι γίνεται πλῆθος φθειρῶν.
And in certain diseases, a multitude of lice is produced.
Ἔστι δὲ γένος φθειρῶν οἳ καλοῦνται ἄγριοι, καὶ σκληρότεροι τῶν ἐν τοῖς πολλοῖς γιγνομένων· εἰσὶ δ’ οὗτοι καὶ δυσαφαίρετοι ἀπὸ τοῦ χρωτός.
And there is a kind of lice called wild, and they are harder than those that are produced in ordinary people; and these are also difficult to remove from the skin.
Παισὶ μὲν οὖν οὖσιν αἱ κεφαλαὶ γίνονται φθειρώδεις, τοῖς δ’ ἀνδράσιν ἧττον.
In children, therefore, the heads become lousy, but less so in men.
Γίνονται δὲ καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τῶν ἀνδρῶν μᾶλλον φθειρώδεις.
And women are also more lousy than men.
Ὅσοις δ’ ἂν ἐγγίνωνται ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ, ἧττον πονοῦσι τὰς κεφαλάς.
And those who have them in the head suffer less from headaches.
Ἐγγίνονται δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων ἐν πολλοῖς φθεῖρες.
And lice are also produced in many of the other animals.
Καὶ γὰρ οἱ ὄρνιθες ἔχουσι, καὶ οἱ καλούμενοι φασιανοὶ ἐὰν μὴ κονιῶνται, διαφθείρονται ὑπὸ τῶν φθειρῶν.
For birds also have them, and the so-called pheasants, if they do not bathe in the dust, are destroyed by lice.
Καὶ τῶν ἄλλων δὲ ὅσα πτερὰ ἔχει, τῶν ἐχόντων καυλὸν καὶ τῶν ἐχόντων τρίχας.
And so it is with all other animals that have feathers, those that have a quill, and those that have hair.
Πλὴν ὄνος οὐκ ἔχει οὔτε φθεῖρας οὔτε κρότωνας.
Except that the donkey has neither lice nor ticks.
Οἱ δὲ βόες ἔχουσιν ἄμφω· τὰ δὲ πρόβατα καὶ αἶγες κρότωνας, φθεῖρας δ’ οὐκ ἔχουσιν· καὶ αἱ ὕες φθεῖρας μεγάλους καὶ σκληρούς.
But cattle have both; and sheep and goats have ticks, but do not have lice; and pigs have large and hard lice.
Ἐν δὲ τοῖς κυσὶν οἱ καλούμενοι γίνονται κυνοραῖσται.
And in dogs, the so-called dog-ticks are produced.
Πάντες δ’ οἱ φθεῖρες ἐν τοῖς ἔχουσιν ἐξ αὐτῶν γίνονται τῶν ζῴων.
And all lice are produced from the animals themselves that have them.
Γίνονται δ’ οἱ φθεῖρες μᾶλλον ὅταν μεταβάλλωσι τὰ ὕδατα οἷς λούονται, ὅσα ἔχει τῶν λουομένων φθεῖρας.
And lice are produced more when the animals that have lice change the water in which they wash.
Ἐν δὲ τῇ θαλάττῃ γίνονται μὲν ἐν τοῖς ἰχθύσι φθεῖρες, οὗτοι δ’ οὐκ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἰχθύων ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῆς ἰλύος· εἰσὶ δὲ τὰς ὄψεις ὅμοιοι τοῖς ὄνοις τοῖς πολύποσι, πλὴν τὴν οὐρὰν ἔχουσι πλατεῖαν.
And in the sea, lice are produced in fish, but these not from the fish themselves but from the mud; and they are similar in appearance to the multi-legged woodlice, except that they have a flat tail.
Ἕν δ’ εἶδός ἐστι τῶν φθειρῶν τῶν θαλαττίων, καὶ γίνονται πανταχοῦ, μάλιστα δὲ περὶ τὰς τρίγλας.
And there is one species of sea-lice, and they are produced everywhere, but especially around the red mullets.
Πάντα δὲ πολύποδα ταῦτ’ ἐστὶ καὶ ἄναιμα τὰ ἔντομα.
And all these insects are multi-legged and bloodless.
Ὁ δὲ τῶν θύννων οἶστρος γίνεται μὲν περὶ τὰ πτερύγια, ἔστι δ’ ὅμοιος τοῖς σκορπίοις, καὶ τὸ μέγεθος ἡλίκος ἀράχνης.
And the gadfly of tunnies is produced around the fins, and is similar to scorpions, and in size as large as a spider.
Ἐν δὲ τῇ θαλάττῃ τῇ ἀπὸ Κυρήνης πρὸς Αἴγυπτον ἔστι περὶ τὸν δελφῖνα ἰχθὺς ὃν καλοῦσι φθεῖρα· ὃς γίνεται πάντων πιότατος διὰ τὸ ἀπολαύειν τροφῆς ἀφθόνου θηρεύοντος τοῦ δελφῖνος.
And in the sea from Cyrene towards Egypt, there is around the dolphin a fish which they call a louse; which becomes the fattest of all because it enjoys abundant food when the dolphin hunts.