§4.88 ἐκ δὲ τούτων φανερὸν ὅτι ὑπὸ θερμοῦ καὶ ψυχροῦ συνίσταται τὰ σῶμματα, ταῦτα δὲ παχύνοντα καὶ πηγνύντα ποιεῖται τὴν ἐργασίαν αὐτῶν.
8 From these it is clear that by hot and cold bodies are constituted, and these perform their work by thickening and solidifying.
διὰ δὲ τὸ ὑπὸ τούτων δημιουργεῖσθαι ἐν ἅποσιν ἔνεστι θερμότης, τισὶ δὲ καὶ ψυχρότης ἐκλείπει.
And because they are fashioned by these, heat is present in all of them, and in some also cold, in so far as heat is lacking.
ὥστʼ ἐπεὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὑπάρχει διὰ τὸ ποιεῖν, ὑγρὸν δὲ καὶ ξηρὸν διὰ τὸ πάσχειν, μετέχει αὐτῶν τὰ κοινὰ πάντων.
Thus, since the former exist by acting, and the moist and the dry by being acted upon, all composite things participate in them.
ἐκ μὲν οὖν ὕδατος καὶ γῆς τὰ ὁμοιομερῆ σώματα συνίσταται, καὶ ἐν φυτοῖς καὶ ἐν ζῴοις, καὶ τὰ μεταλλευόμενα, οἷον χριυσὸς καὶ ἄργυρος καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τοιαῦτα, ἐξ αὐτῶν τε καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἀναθυμιάσεως τῆς ἑκατέρου ἐγκατακλειομένης, ὥσπερ εἴρηται ἐν ἄλλοις.
Therefore homoeomerous bodies are constituted of water and earth, both in plants and in animals, and those that are mined, like gold and silver and whatever other things are of this kind, both from themselves and from the enclosed exhalation of each, as has been said in other writings.
ταῦτα δὲ διαφέρει ἀλλήλων τοῖς τε πρὸς τὰς αἰσθήσεις ἴδίοις ἅπαντα, τῷ ποιεῖν τι δύνασθαι (λευκὸν γὰρ καὶ εὐὥδες καὶ ψοφητικὸν καὶ γλυκύ καὶ θερμὸν καὶ ψιυχρὸν τῷ ποιεῖν τι δύνασθαι τὴν αἴσθησίν ἐστι), καὶ ἄλλοις οἰκειοτέροις πάθεσιν, ὅσα τῷ πάσχειν λέγονται, λέγω δʼ οἶον τὸ τηκτὸν καὶ πηκτὸν καὶ καμπτὸν καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τοιαῦτα· πάντα γὰρ τὰ τοιαῦτα παθητικά, ὥσπερ τὸ ὑγρὸν καὶ τὸ ηρόν.
And all these differ from one another by their proper qualities in relation to the senses —by being able to act in some way (for white, sweet-smelling, resonant, sweet, hot, and cold exist by virtue of being able to act on sensation in some way)—and by other more proper affections, as many as are defined by being acted upon—I mean, for instance, meltable, solidifiable, bendable, and all other such things; for all such things are passive, just like the moist and the dry.
τούτοις δʼ ἠδη διαφέρει ὀστοῦν καὶ σὰρξ καὶ νεῦρον καὶ ξύλον καὶ φλοιὸς καὶ λθος καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον τῶν ὁμοιομερῶν μὲν φυσικῶν δὲ σωμάτων.
And by these, bone, flesh, sinew, wood, bark, stone, and each of the other homoeomerous and natural bodies already differ.
εἴπωμεν δὲ πρῶτον τὸν ἀριθμὸν αὐτῶν, ὅσα κατὰ δύναμιν καὶ ἀδυναμίαν λέγεται.
Let us first state the number of them, as many as are defined in terms of capacity and incapacity.
ἔστιν δὲ τάδε, πηκτὸν ἄπηκτον, τηκτὸν ἄτηκτον, μαλακτὸν ἀμάλακτον, τεγκτὸν ἄτεγκτον, καμπτὸν ἄκαμμπτον, κατακτὸν ἀκάτακτον, θραυστὸν ἄθραυστον, θλαστὸν ἄθλαστον, πλαστὸν ἄπλαστον, πιεστὸν ἀπίεστον, ἑλκτὸν ἄνελκτον, ἐλατὸν ἀνήλατον, σχιστὸν ἄσχιστον, τμητὸν ἄτμητον, γλίσχρον ψαθυρόν, πιλητὸν ἀπίλητον, καυστὸν ἄκαυστον, θυμιατὸν ἀθυμίατον.
They are as follows: solidifiable and insolidifiable, meltable and unmeltable, softenable and unsoftenable, soakable and unsoakable, bendable and unbendable, breakable and unbreakable, shatterable and unshatterable, impressible and unimpressible, plastic and non-plastic, squeezable and unsqueezable, tractile and untractile, malleable and unmalleable, fissile and unfissile, cuttable and uncuttable, viscous and friable, condensable and incondensable, combustible and incombustible, vaporizable and non-vaporizable.
τὰ μὲν οὖν πλεῖστα σχεδὸν τῶν σωμάτων τούτοις διαφέρει τοῖς πάθεσιν· τίνα δʼ ἕκαστον τούτων ἔχει δύναμιν, εἴπωμεν.
Almost most bodies, then, differ from one another by these affections; let us state, then, what capacity each of these has.
περὶ μὲν οὖν πηκτοῦ καὶ ἀπήκτου καὶ τηκτοῦ καὶ ἀτήκτου εἴρηται μὲν καθόλου πρότερον, ὅμως δʼ ἐπανέλθωμεν καὶ νῦν.
Now, concerning solidifiable and insolidifiable, and meltable and unmeltable, it has been stated in general before, but nevertheless let us return to them now.
τῶν γὰρ σωμάτων ὅσα πήγνυται καὶ σκληρύνεται, τὰ μὲν ὑπὸ θερμοῦ πάσχει τοῦτο τὰ δʼ ὑπὸ ψυχροῦ, ὑπὸ μὲν τοῦ θερμοῦ ξηραίνοντος τὸ ὑγρόν, ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ ψυχροῦ ἐκθλίβοντος τὸ θερμόν.
For of those bodies which solidify and harden, some undergo this by heat and others by cold; by heat drying up the moist, and by cold squeezing out the hot.
ὥστε τὰ μὲν ὑγροῦ ἀπουσίᾳ τὰ δὲ θερμοῦ τοῦτο πάσχει, ὅσα μὲν ὕδατος, θερμοῦ, ὅσα δὲ γῆς, ὑγροῦ.
Consequently some undergo this by lack of moisture, others by lack of heat; those that consist of water, by lack of heat, and those of earth, by lack of moisture.
τὰ μὲν οὖν ὑγροῦ ἀπουσίᾳ ὑπὸ ὑγροῦ διατήκεται, ἂν μὴ οὕτως συνέλθῃ ὥστε ἐλάττους τούς πόρους λειφθῆναι τῶν τοῦ ὕδατος ὄγκων, οἶον ὁ κέραμος· ὅσα δὲ μὴ οὕτω, πάντα ὑγρῷ τήκεται, ἷον νίτρον, ἄλες, γῇ ἡ ἐκ πηλοῦ·
Therefore those solidified by lack of moisture are dissolved by moisture, unless they have contracted in such a way that the passages left are smaller than the particles of water, as is the case with pottery; but those which are not so contracted are all dissolved by moisture, like soda, salt, and earth made from clay.
τὰ δὲ θερμοῦ στερήσει ὑπὸ θερμοῦ τήκεται, οἷον κρύσταλλος, μόλυβδος, χαλκός.
On the other hand, those solidified by privation of heat are melted by heat, like ice, lead, and bronze.
ποῖα μὲν οὖν πηκτὰ καὶ τηκτά, εἴρηται, καὶ ποῖα ἄτηκτα.
What kinds of things, then, are solidifiable and meltable, and what kinds are unmeltable, has been stated.
ἄπηκτα δὲ ὅσα μὴ ἔχει ὑγρότητα ὑδατάδη, μηδὲ ὕδατὸς ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ πλέον θερμοῦ καὶ γῆς, οἶον μέλι καὶ γλεῦκος (ὥσπερ ζέοντα γάρ ἐστιν), καὶ ὅσα ὕδατος μὲν ἔχει, ἔστιν δὲ πλέον ἀέρος, ὥσπερ τὸ ἔλαιον καὶ ὁ ἄργυρος ὁ χυτός, καὶ εἴ τι γλίσχρον, οἶον πίττα καὶ ἰξὸς.
And those are insolidifiable which do not contain watery moisture, and do not consist of water, but rather of heat and earth, like honey and must (for they are as if boiling); and those which contain water but have more of air, like oil and quick silver, and if there is anything viscous, like pitch and birdlime.