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Aristotle · Mechanics §6.1

Why Ships Sail Faster with a Higher Yard as a Lever

Passage 8 of 38 · Greek

Summary

Explains why a ship sails faster when the yard is raised higher, using a mechanical model where the mast acts as a lever and the mast-block as the fulcrum, analyzing the effect of the distance from the fulcrum.

§6.1Διὰ τί, ὅσῳ ἂν ἡ κεραία ἀνωτέρα ᾖ, θᾶττον πλεῖ τὰπλοῖα τῷ αὐτῷ ἱστίῳ καὶ τῷ αὐτῷ πνεύματι;
Why is it that, the higher the yard is, the faster the ships sail with the same sail and the same wind?
Ἣ διότι γίνεται ὁ μὲν στὸς μοχλός, ὑπομόχλιον δὲ τὸ ἑδώλιον ἐν ᾧ ἐμπέπηγεν, ὃ δὲδεῖ κινεῖν βάρος, τὸ πλοῖον, τὸ δὲ κινοῦν τὸ ἐν τῷ ἱστίῳ πνεῦμα.
Or is it because the mast becomes a lever, and the mast-block in which it is fixed becomes the fulcrum, and the weight which must be moved is the ship, and the mover is the wind in the sail?
Εἰ δ’ ὅσῳ αν πορρώτερον ᾗ τὸ ὑπομόχλιον, ῥᾷον κινεῖ καὶ θᾶττον ἡ αὐτὴ δύναμις τὸ αὐτὸ βάρος, ἡ οὖν κεραία ἀνώτερον ἀγομένη καὶ τὸ ἱστίον πορρώτερον ποιεῖ τοῦ ἑδωλίου ὑπομοχλίου ὄντος.
And if it is true that, the further it is from the fulcrum, the more easily and quickly the same force moves the same weight, then the yard being raised higher makes the sail also further from the mast-block, which is the fulcrum.

Notes

  1. 851bὁ μὲν στὸς — The reading 'ὁ μὲν στὸς' in the text is a corruption of 'ὁ μὲν ἱστὸς' (the mast). In this context, the mast is treated as the lever (μοχλός), so it must be interpreted as 'the mast'.
  2. 851bὃ δὲ δεῖ κινεῖν βάρος — The relative pronoun ὃ either contains its antecedent ('that which must be moved') in apposition with βάρος (weight), or the relative clause adjectivally modifies βάρος. As a whole, it forms the noun phrase 'the weight which must be moved', functioning as the subject of the clause. The implied subject of the infinitive κινεῖν is the lever (the mast).
  3. 851bἡ οὖν κεραία ἀνώτερον ἀγομένη καὶ τὸ ἱστίον πορρώτερον ποιεῖ — The noun phrase with a participle 'ἡ κεραία ἀνώτερον ἀγομένη' ('the yard being raised higher') functions as the subject of the main clause. The main verb is ποιεῖ, taking καὶ τὸ ἱστίον ('the sail also') as its object, and πορρώτερον ('further away') as its object complement. The particle καί is used adverbially to mean 'also' or 'even'.

Cite this passage

Aristotle, Mechanics §6.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg023.humanitext-grc1:6.1

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