§4.9#19 μαλακτὰ δʼ ἐστὶ τῶν πεπηγότων ὅσα μὴ ἐξ ὔδατος, οἴον κρύσταλλος ὕδατος, ἀλλʼ ὅσα γῆς μᾶλλον, καὶ μήτʼ ἐξίκμασται πᾶν τὸ ὑγρὸν ὥσπερ ἐν νίτρῳ ἁλκί, μήτʼ ἔχει ἀνωμάλως ὥσπερ ὁ κέραμος, ἀλλʼ ἢ ἑλκτὰ μἡ ὄντα διαντά, ἢ ἐλατὰ μὴ ὄντα θδατος, καὶ μαλακτὰ πυρί, οἷον σίδηρος καὶ κέρας καὶ ξύλα.
9 Now, of those things which are solidified, those are softenable which do not consist of water (for example, ice consists of water [and is not softenable]), but rather consist more of earth, and have not had all their moisture evaporated, as is the case with soda and salt, nor are they disproportionate like pottery, but are either tractile without snapping, or malleable without consisting of water, and are softenable by fire, like iron, horn, and wood.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ τῶν τηκτῶν καὶ τῶν ἀτήκτων τὰ μὲν τεγκτὰ τὰ δὲ ἄτεγκτα, οἷον χαλκὸς ἄτεγκτον, τηκτὸν ὅν, ἔριον δὲ καὶ γῇ τεγκτόν·
Also, of both meltable and unmeltable things, some are soakable and others unsoakable; for example, bronze is unsoakable, though it is meltable, while wool and earth are soakable, for they are wetted.
βρέχεται γάρ. καὶ χαλκὸς μὲν δὴ τηκτόν, οὐχ ὑπὸ ὕδατος δὲ τηκτόν.
And bronze indeed is meltable, but not meltable by water.
ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ὑπὸ ὕδατος τηκτῶν νια ἄτεγκτα, οἷον νίτρον καὶ ἅλες· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλο τεγκτὸν οὐδὲν ὃ μἡ μαλακώτερον γίγνεται βρεχόμενον.
On the other hand, some of those things meltable by water are unsoakable, like soda and salt; for nothing else is soakable which does not become softer when wetted.
ἔνια δὲ τεγκτὰ ὄντα οὐ τηκτά ἐστιν, οἷον ἔριον καὶ οἱ καρποί.
Some things, however, are soakable but not meltable, like wool and fruits.
ἔστι δὲ τεγκτὰ μὲν ὅσα γῆς ὄντα ἔχει τοὺς πόρους μείζους τῶν τοῦ ὕδατος ὄγκων, ὄντων σκληροτέρων τοῦ ὕδατος.
Those things are soakable which, consisting of earth, have their pores larger than the particles of water, being themselves harder than water.
τηκτὰ δὲ ὕδατι ὅσα διʼ ὅλου.
But those are meltable by water which are so throughout.
διὰ τὶ δʼ ἡ μὲν γῇ καὶ τήκεται καὶ τέγγεται ὑπὸ τοῦ ὑγροῦ, τὸ δὲ νίτρον τήκεται μέν, τέγγεται δʼ οὔ;
Why is it, then, that earth is both melted and soaked by moisture, while soda is melted but not soaked?
ὅτι ἐν μὲν τῷ νίτρῳ διʼ ὅλου οἱ πόροι, ὥστε διαιρεῖται εὐθὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος τὰ μόρια, ἐν δὲ τῇ γῇ καὶ παραλλὰξ εἰσι πόροι, ὥστε ὁποτέρως ἄν δέξηται, διαφέρει τὸ πάθος.
It is because in soda the pores are throughout, so that its parts are immediately divided by water, whereas in earth the pores are also alternating, so that whichever way it receives the moisture, the passive effect differs.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὰ μὲν τῶν σωμάτων καμπτὰ καὶ εὐθυντά, οἶον κάλαμος καὶ λύγος, τὰ δʼ ἄκαμπτα τῶν σωμάτων, οον κέραμος καὶ λίθος.
Also, some bodies are bendable and straightenable, like reeds and osiers, while other bodies are unbendable, like pottery and stone.
ἔστιν δὲ ἄκαμπτα μὲν καὶ ἀνεύθυντα ὅσων σωμάτων οὐ δύναται τὸ μῆκος εἰς εὐθύτητα ἐκ περιφερείας καὶ ἐξ εὐθύτητος εἰς περιφέρειαν μεταβάλλειν, καὶ τὸ κάμπτεσθαι καὶ τὸ εὐθύνεσθαί ἐστιν τὸ εἰς εὐθύτητα ἢ περιφέρειαν μεθίστασθαι ἢ κινεῖσθαι· καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἀνακαμπτόμενον καὶ τὸ κατακαμπτόμενον κάμπτεται.
And those bodies are unbendable and unstraightenable whose length cannot change from curved to straight, and from straight to curved, and bending and straightening consist in shifting or moving towards straightness or curvature; for both that which is bent upwards and that which is bent downwards is said to bend.
ἡ μὲν οὖν εἰς κυρτότητα ἢ κοιλότητα κίνησις τοῦ μήκους σῳζομένου κάμψις ἐστίν· εἰ γὰρ καὶ εἰς τὸ εὐθύ, εἴη ἂν ἅμα κεκαμμμένον καὶ εὐθὺ·
The movement, then, of the length towards convexity or concavity, while the length is preserved, is bending; for if it were also towards the straight, it would be at once bent and straight; which is impossible, namely for the straight to be bent.
ὅπερ ἀδύνατον, τὸ εὐθύ κεκάμφθαι. καὶ εἰ κάμπτεται πᾶν ἤ ἀνακάμψει ἢ κατακάμψει, τούτων δὲ τὸ μὲν εἰς τὸ κυρτὸν τὸ δʼ εἰς τὸ κοῖλον μετάβασις, οὐκ ἄν εἴη καὶ εἰς τὸ εὐθὸ κάμψις, ἀλλʼ ἔστι κάμψις καὶ εὔθυνσις ἄλλο καὶ ἄλλο.
And if everything that bends bends either upwards or downwards, and the former is a transition to the convex and the latter to the concave, there could not be a bending towards the straight, but bending and straightening are different from one another.
καὶ ταῦτά ἐστιν καμπτὰ καὶ εὐθυντά, καὶ ἄκαμπτα καὶ ἀνείὺθυντα.
And these are bendable and straightenable, and unbendable and unstraightenable.
καὶ τὰ μὲν κατακτὰ καὶ θραυστὰ ἄμα ἢ χωρίς, οἶον ξύλον μὲν κατακτόν, θραυστὸν δʼ οὔ, κρύσταλλος δὲ καὶ λίθος θραυστὸν, κατακτὸν δʼ οὔ, κέραμος δὲ καὶ θραυστὸν καὶ κατὁπότερος ακτόν.
Also, some things are breakable and shatterable either together or separately; for example, wood is breakable but not shatterable, while ice and stone are shatterable but not breakable, and pottery is both shatterable and breakable.
διαφέρει δʼ, ὅτι κάταξις μέν ἐστιν εἰς μεγάλα μέρη διαίρεσις καὶ χώρισις, θραῦσις δὲ εἰς τὰ τυχόντα καὶ πλείω δυοῖν.
They differ in that breaking is division and separation into large parts, while shattering is division into random parts and more than two.
ὅσα μὲν οὖν οὕτω πέπηγεν ὥστε πολλοὺς ἔχειν παραλλάττοντας πόρους, θραυστά (μέχρι γὰρ τούτου διίσταται), ὅσα δʼ εἰς πολύ, κατακτά, ὅσα δʼ ἄμφω, ἀμφότερα.
Therefore, those things which have solidified so as to have many alternating pores are shatterable (for they split up to that point), while those whose pores extend to a great length are breakable, and those which have both are both.
καὶ τὰ μὲν θλαστά, οἷον χαλκὸς καὶ κηρός, τὰ δʼ ἄθλαστα, οἷον κέραμος καὶ ὕδωρ.
Also, some things are impressible, like bronze and wax, while others are unimpressible, like pottery and water.
ἔστιν δὲ θλάσις ἐπιπέδου κατὰ μέρος εἰς βάθος μετάστασις ὤσει ἢ πληγῇ, τὸ δʼ ὅλον ἁφῇ.
And impression is the displacement of a part of a surface into depth by pushing or striking, while the whole remains in contact.
ἔστιν δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ μαλακτά, οἷον κηρὸς μένοντος τοῦ ἄλλου ἐπιπέδου κατὰ μέρος μεθίσταται, καὶ σκληρά, οἷον χαλκός, καὶ ἄθλαστα καὶ σκληρά, οἷον κέραμος (οὐ γὰρ ὑπείκει εἰς βάθος τὸ ἐπίπεδον), καὶ ὑγρά, οἷον ὕδωρ (τὸ γὰρ ὕδωρ ὑπείκει μέν, ἀλλʼ οὐ κατὰ μέρος, ἀλλʼ ἀντιμεθίσταται).
And such things are both soft, as wax, whose surface is displaced in part while the rest remains, and hard, like bronze. And some are both unimpressible and hard, like pottery (for its surface does not yield into depth), and others are liquid, like water (for water indeed yields, but not in part, but by mutual displacement).
τῶν δὲ θλαστῶν ὄσα μὲν μένει θλασθέντα καὶ εὔθλαστα χειρί, ταῦτα μὲν πλαστὰ, τὰ δὲ ἢ μὴ εὔθλαστα, ὥσπερ λίθος ἢ ξύλον, ἢ εὔθλαστα μέν, μὴ μένει δὲ ἡ θλάσις, ὥσπερ ἐρίου ἢ σπόγγου, οὐ πλαστά, ἀλλὰ πιεστὰ ταῦτʼ ἐστίν.
And of impressible things, those which remain impressed and are easily impressed by hand are plastic, whereas those which are either not easily impressed, like stone or wood, or are easily impressed but the impression does not remain, like wool or sponge, are not plastic, but are squeezable.