§2.10.110 Νῦν δὲ λέγωμεν οἷον ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς πάλιν, ἀρξάμενοι πρητον ἀπὸ τῶν πρὸτων.
10 Now let us speak as if from the beginning again, starting first from the first things.
πἀσι γὰρ τοῖς ζῴοις καὶ τελείοις δύο τὰ ἀναγκαιὸτατα μὸρια ἐστιν, ᾖ τε δέχονται τὴν τροφὴν καὶ ᾖ τὸ περίττωμα ἀφήσουσιν·
For to all animals, and indeed perfect ones, there are two most necessary parts: that by which they receive food, and that by which they discharge residue.
οὔτε γὰρ εἶναι οὔτε αὐξάνεσθαι ἐνδέχεται ἄνευ τροφῆς.
For it is not possible either to exist or to grow without food.
τὰ μὲν οὖν φυτά (καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα ζῆν φαμέν) τοῦ μὲν ἀχρήστου περιττήματος οὐκ ἔχει τόπον· ἐκ τῆς γῆς γὰρ λαμβάνει πεπεμμένην τὴν τροφὴν, ἀντὶ δὲ τούτου προῖεται τὰ σπέρματα καὶ τοὺς καρπούς.
Plants, then (for we say that these also live), do not have a place for useless residue; for they receive their food from the earth already digested, and instead of this they cast off seeds and fruits.
τρίτον δὲ μέρος ἐν πάσίν ἐστι τὸ τούτων μέσον, ἐν §2.10.22 ἡ μὲν οὗν τῶν φυτῶν φύσις οὖσα μόνιμος οὑ πολυειδής ἐστι τῶν ἀνομοιομερῶν· πρὸς γὰρ ὀλίγας πράξεις ὀλέγων ὀργάνων ἡ χρῆσις·
And a third part in all is that which is between these, in 2 Now the nature of plants, being stationary, is not very varied in its non-uniform parts; for since they have only a few actions, they use only a few organs; wherefore we must contemplate their form by itself.
διὸ θεωρητέον καθʼ αὑτὰ περὶ τῆς ἰδέας αὐτῶν. τὰ δὲ πρὸς τῷ ζῆν αἴσθησιν ἔχοντα πολυμορφστέραν ἔχει τὴν ἰδεον, καὶ τούτων ἕτερα πρὸ ἑτέρων μμἀλλον, καὶ πολυχουστέραν, ὅσων μμιὴ μόνον τοῦ ζῆν ἀλλὰ καὶ τού εὺ ζῆν ἡ φύσις μετείληφεν.
But those which, in addition to living, possess sensation, have a more varied form, and some of them more so than others, and more diversified, namely all those whose nature has partaken not only of living but also of living well.
§2.10.3τοιούτο δʼ ἐστὶ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρύπων γένοςʼ ἤ γὰρ μόνον μετέχει τού θείου τῶν ἡμῖν γνωρίμων ζῴων, ἢ μάλιστα πάντων.
And of such a kind is the class of humans; for it either alone partakes of the divine among the animals known to us, or most of all.
ὥσιε διά τε τοῦτο, καὶ διὰ τὸ γνώριμον εἶναι μάλιστʼ αὐτοῦ τὴν τῶν ἔξωσθεν μορίων μορφήν, περὶ τούτου λεκτέον πρῶτον.
So because of this, and because the shape of its external parts is most familiar, we must speak of this first.
εὐθὺς γὰρ καὶ τὰ φύσει μὸρια κατὰ φύσιν ἔχει τούτῳ μὸνῳ, καὶ τὸ τούτου ἄνω πρὸς τὸ τού ὅλου ἔχει ἄνω· μόνον γὰρ ὀρθόν ἐστι τῶν ζῴων ἅνθρωπος.
For indeed, its natural parts are in their natural position in this animal alone, and its upper part is oriented toward the upper part of the universe; for human alone of the animals is upright.
§2.10.4τὸ μὲν οὖν 4 ἔχειν τὴν κεφαλὴν ἂσαρκον ἐκ τῶν περὶ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον εἰρημένων ἀναγκαῖον συμβέβηκεν.
Now, that the head is fleshless has occurred of necessity from what was said about the brain.
οὐ γὰρ ὤσπερ τινὲς λέγουσιν, ὅτι εἰ σαρκώδης ἦν, μακροβιώτερον ἂν ἦν τὸ γένος· ἀλλʼ εὐαισθησίας ἕνεκεν ἄσαρκον εἶναί φασιν· αἰσθάνεσθαι μὲν γὰρ τῷ ἐγκεφάλῳ, τὴν δʼ αῖσθησιν οὐ προσίεσθαι τὰ μόρια τὰ σαρκὸδη λίαν.
For it is not as some say, that if it were fleshy, the race would be longer-lived; rather, they say it is fleshless for the sake of keenness of sensation, on the ground that we perceive with the brain, and that excessively fleshy parts do not admit sensation.
§2.10.55 τούτων δʼ οὐδέτερόν ἐστιν ἀληθές, ἁλλὰ πολύσαρκος 5 μὲν ὁ τόπος ον ὁ περὶ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον τοὐναντίον ἄν ἀπειργάζετο οὐ νεκα ὑπάρχει τοῖς ζῴοις ὁ ἐγκέφαλος (οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐδύνατο καταψύχειν ἀλεαίνων αὐτὸς λίαν), τῶν τʼ αἰσθήσεων οὐκ αἴτιος οὐδεμιἀς, ὅς γε ἀναίσθητος καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ὧσπερ ὁτιοῦν τῶν περιττωμάτων.
5 But neither of these is true; rather, if the place around the brain were fleshy, it would produce the opposite of that for the sake of which the brain belongs to animals (for being excessively warm itself, it would not be able to cool), and it is the cause of none of the sensations, since indeed it is itself insensate, just like any of the residues.
ἀλλʼ οὐχ εὺρίσκοντες διἀ τίνα αἰτίαν ἔνιαι τΘν αἰσθήσεων ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ τοῖς ζῴοις εἰσί, τοῦτο δ ʼ ὁρῶντες ἰδιαίτερον ὄν τῶν ἄλλων μορίων, ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ πρὸς ἄλληλα συνδυάζουσιν.
But because they do not find for what cause some of the sensations are in the head of animals, and seeing that this part is peculiar compared to the other parts, they couple them together by a process of reasoning.
§2.10.6ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἀρχὴ τῶν αἰσθήσεωόν ἐστιν ὁ 6 περὶ τὴν καρδίαν τόπος, διωρισται πρὸτερον ἐν τοῖς περὶ αἰσθήσεωςςʼ καὶ διότι αἱ μὲν δύο φανερῶς ἠρτημέναι πρὸς τὴν καρδίαν εἰσίν, ἢ τε τῶν ἀπτῶν καὶ ἡ τῶν χυμῶν, τῶν δὲ τριῶν ἡ μὲν τῆς ὀσφρήσεως μέση, ἀκοὴ δὲ καὶ ὄψις μάλιστʼ ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ διὰ τὴν τῶν αἰσθητηρίων φύσιν εἰσί, καὶ τούτων ἡ ὄψις πᾶσιν, ἐπεὶ ἦ γʼ ἀκοὴ καὶ ἡ ὄσφρησις ἐπὶ τῶν ἐχθύων καὶ τάν τοιούτων ποιεῖ τὸ λεγόμενον φανερόν· ἀκούουσι μὲν γὰρ καὶ ὁσφραίνονταε, αἰσθητήριον δʼ οὐδὲν ἔχουσι φανερὸν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ τούτων τῶν αἰσθητῶν. ῶν.
Now, that the region around the heart is the principle of the sensations has been defined previously in the treatise on Sensation; and also because two of them are visibly dependent on the heart, namely touch and taste, while of the other three, that of smell is intermediate, and hearing and sight are located especially in the head because of the nature of their sense organs, and of these, sight is so in all animals [that have it], since hearing and smell in the case of fishes and suchlike make what is said manifest; for they hear and smell, but they have no manifest organ of these sensible objects in their head.
ἡ δʼ ὄψις πἀσι τοῖς ἔχουσιν εὐλόγως ἐστὶ περὶ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον· ὁ μὲν γὰρ ὑγρὸς καὶ ψυχρός, ἡ δʼ. ὕδωρ τὴν φύσιν ἐστίν· τούτο γὰρ τῶν διαφανῶν εὐφυλακτότατόν ἐστιν.
And sight is reasonably situated around the brain in all animals that have it; for while the brain is moist and cold, sight is water by nature; for this is the most easily preserved of transparent substances.