§4.7#2τὸ δὲ γεῶδες συνίσταται καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ ὀποῦ, ἐάν πως ἕψη τις, οἶον οἱ ἰατροὶ ὀπίζοντες.
The earthy part is also condensed by fig-juice, if one boils it in some way, as when physicians curdle milk with juice.
οὕτω δὲ χωρίζεται ὁ ὀρὸς καὶ ὁ τυρός.
And in this way the whey and the cheese are separated.
ὁ δὲ χωρισθεὶς ὀρὸς οὐκέτι παχίύνεται, ἀλλʼ ἐκκάεται ὥσπερ ὕδωρ.
And the separated whey is no longer thickened, but is burnt away like water.
εἰ δέ τι μὴ ἔχει τυρὸν γάλα ἢ ὀλίγον, τοῦτο μᾶλλον ὕδατος καὶ ἄτροφον.
But if any milk has no cheese in it, or only a little, this consists rather of water and is unnutritious.
καὶ τὸ οἶμα δὲ ὁμοίως· πήγνυται γὰρ τῷ ξηραίνεσθαι φυχόμενον.
And blood is similar; for it solidifies by being dried as it cools.
ὅσα δὲ μἡ πήγνυται, οἷον τὸ τῆς ἐλάφου, τὰ τοιαῦτα ὕδατος μᾶλλον, καὶ ψυχρὰ ταῦτα.
But those which do not solidify, such as that of the deer, are rather of water, and these are cold.
διὸ καὶ οὐκ ἔχει ἶνας· αἱ γὰρ ἶνές εἰσιν γῆς καὶ στερεόν·
Therefore also it has no fibers; for the fibers consist of earth and are solid.
ὥστε καὶ ἐξαιρεθεισῶν οὐ πήγνυται· τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶν ὅτι οὐ ξηραίνεται·
Consequently, even when they are removed, it does not solidify; and this is because it does not dry.
ὕδωρ γὰρ τὸ λοιπόν, ὡς τὸ γάλα τοῦ τυροῦ ἐξαιρεθέντος.
For the residue is water, just like milk when the cheese has been removed.
σημεῖον δέ· τὰ νοσώδη γὰρ αἵματα οὐ θέλει πήγνυσθαι· ἰχωροειδῆ γάρ, τοῦτο δὲ φλέγμα καὶ ὕδωρ διὰ τὸ ἄπεπτον εἶναι καὶ ἀκράτητον ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως.
And a proof: for diseased blood will not solidify; for it is like ichor, and this is phlegm and water, because it is unconcocted and not mastered by nature.
ἔτι δὲ τὰ μὲν λυτά ἐστιν, οἷον νίτρον, τὰ δὲ ἄλυτα, οἶον κέραμος, καὶ τούτων τὰ μὲν μαλακτά, οἶον κέρας, τὰ δὲ ἀμάλλακτα, οἷον κέραμος καὶ λίθος.
Furthermore, some things are soluble, like soda, others insoluble, like pottery; and of these, some can be softened, like horn, others cannot be softened, like pottery and stone.
αἴτιον δʼ ὅτι τἀναντία τῶν ἐναντίων αἴτια, ὥστʼ εἰ πήγνυται δυοῖν, φυχρῷ καὶ ξηρῷ, λύεσθαι ἀνάγκη θερμῷ καὶ ὑγρῷ διὸ πυρὶ καὶ ὕδατι (ταῦτα γὰρ ἐναντία), ὕδατι μὲν ὅσα πυρὶ μόνῳ, πυρὶ δὲ ὅσα ψυχρῷ μόνῳ· ὥστʼ εἴ τι ὑπʼ ἀμφοῖν συμβαίνει πήγνυσθαι, ταῦτα ἄλυτα μάλιστα.
And the cause is that opposites are the causes of opposites; so that if solidification is due to two things, namely cold and dry, dissolution must be due to hot and moist, and therefore to fire and water (for these are opposites), those things solidified by fire alone being dissolved by water, and those by cold alone by fire; so that if anything happens to be solidified by both, these are the most insoluble.
γίγνεται δὲ τοιαῦτα ὅσα θερμανθέντα ἔπειτα τῷ ψυχρῷ πήγνυται· συμβαίνει γάρ, ὅταν τὸ θερμὸν ἐξικμάσῃ ἐξιόν, τὸ πλεῖστον ὑγρὸν συνθλίβεσθαι πάλιν ὑπὸ τοῦ ψυχροῦ, ὥστε μηδὲ ὑγρῷ διδόναι δίοδον.
And such are those things which, after being heated, are then solidified by cold; for it happens that, when the heat in going out evaporates the moisture, most of the liquid is compressed again by the cold, so that it does not even give a passage to moisture.
καὶ διὰ ταῦτα οὔτε τὸ θερμὸν λύει· ὅσα γὰρ ὑπὸ ψυχροῦ πήγνυται μόνου, ταῦτα λύει· οὔθʼ ὑπὸ ὕδατος· ὅσα γὰρ ὑπὸ ψυχροῦ πήγνυται, οὐ λύει, ἀλλʼ ὅσα ὑπὸ θερμοῦ ξηροῦ μόνον.
And for these reasons neither does heat dissolve them—for heat dissolves only those things that are solidified by cold alone—nor are they dissolved by water; for water does not dissolve what is solidified by cold, but only what is solidified by dry heat alone.
ὁ δὲ σίὅηρος τακεὶς ὑπὸ θερμοῦ ψυχθεὶς πήγνυται.
But iron, having been melted by heat, solidifies when cooled.
τὰ δὲ ξὐλα ἐστὶν γῆς καὶ ἀέρος· διὸ καυστὰ καὶ οὐ τηκτὰ οὐδὲ μαλακτά, καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ ὕδατι ἐπιπλεῖ, πλὴν ἐβένου·
Wood consists of earth and air; therefore it is combustible, and neither meltable nor softenable, and it floats on water, except ebony, which does not.
αὕτη δʼ οὔ· τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλα ἀέρος ἔχει πλέον, ἐκ δὲ τῆς ἐβένου τῆς μελαίνης διαπέπνευκεν ὁ ἀήρ, καὶ ἔστι πλέον ἐν αὐτῇ γῆς.
For the other kinds of wood have more of air, but from the black ebony the air has escaped, and there is more of earth in it.
κέραμος δὲ γῆς μόνον διὰ τὸ ξηραινὁμενος παγῆναι κατὰ μικρόν·
Pottery, on the other hand, consists of earth alone, because it has solidified gradually while being dried.
οὔτε γὰρ τὸ ὕδωρ εἰσόδους ἔχει, διʼ ὧν μόνον πνεῦμα ἐξῆλθεν, οὔτε πῦρ· ἔπηξε γὰρ αὐτό.
For neither water has entrance through the passages through which alone the breath escaped, nor fire; for fire has solidified it.
τὶ μὲν οὖν ἐστι πῆξις καὶ τῆξις, καὶ διὰ πόσα καὶ ἐν πόσοις ἐστίν, εἴρηται.
What, then, solidification and melting are, and due to how many causes and in how many things they occur, has been stated.