§4.2.12 Ἐχει δὲ καὶ χολὴν τὰ πολλὰ τῶν ἐναίμων ζῴων, τὰ μὲν ἐπὶ τῷ ἥπατι, τὰ δʼ ἀπηρτημένην ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐντέροις, ὡς οὖσαν οὐχ ἧττον ἐκ τῆς κάτω κοιλίας τὴν φύσιν αὐτῆς δῆλον δὲ μάλιστʼ ἐπὶ τῶν ίχθύων· οὗτοι γὰρ ἔχουσί τε πάντες, καὶ οἱ πολλοὶ πρὸς ἐντέροις, ἔνιοι δὲ παῤ ὅλον τὸ ἔντερον παρυφασμένην, οἷον ἡ ἄμια·
2 And most red-blooded animals also have bile, some on the liver, and others detached on the intestines, as its nature is no less from the lower cavity, which is most obvious in the case of fish; for these all have it, and most of them near the intestines, but some, like the amia, have it interwoven along the whole intestine; and most of the snakes are in the same way.
καὶ τῶν ὄφεων οἱ πλεῖστοι τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον. διόπερ οἱ λέγοντες τὴν φύσιν τῆς χολῆς αἰσθήσεώς τινος εἶναι χάριν, οὐ καλῶς λέγουσιν.
Therefore, those who say that the nature of bile is for the sake of some sensation do not speak well.
φασὶ γὰρ εἶναι διὰ τοῦτο, ὅπως τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ περὶ τὸ ἧπαρ μόριον δάκνουσα μὲν συνιστῇ, λυομένη δʼ ἵλεων ποιῇ.
For they say it exists for this reason, so that by biting the part of the soul around the liver it may contract it, and when dissolved, make it gentle.
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ὅλως οὐκ ἔχει χολήν, οἷον ἵππος καὶ ὀρεὺς καὶ ὄνος καὶ ἔλαφος καὶ πρόξ.
For some animals do not have bile at all, such as the horse, the mule, the ass, the deer, and the roe-deer.
§4.2.2οὐκ 2 ἔχει δʼ οὐδʼ ἡ κάμηλος ἀποκεκριμένην, ἀλλὰ φλέβια χολώδη μᾶλλον.
And 2 the camel does not have a separate gall-bladder either, but rather choleric small veins.
οὐκ ἔχει δʼ οὐδʼ ἡ φώκη χολήν, οὐδὲ τῶν θαλαττίων δελφίς.
Nor does the seal have bile, nor the dolphin among marine animals.
§4.2.3ἐν δὲ τοῖς γένεσι τοῖς 3 αὐτοῖς τὰ μὲν ἔχειν φαίνεται τὰ δʼ οὐκ ἔχειν, οἷον ἐν τῷ τῶν μυῶν.
And in the 3 same genera, some individuals appear to have it and others not to have it, as in the genus of mice.
τούτων δʼ ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος· ἔνιοι μὲν γὰρ φαίνονται ἔχοντες χολὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἥπατος, ἔνιοι δʼ οὐκ ἔχοντες.
Man also is among these; for some individuals are clearly seen to have bile on the liver, while others do not have it.
διὸ καὶ γίνεται ἀμφισβήτησις περὶ ὅλου τοῦ γένους· οἱ γὰρ ἐντυχόντες ὁποτερωσοῦν ἔχουσι περὶ πάντων ὑπολαμβάνουσιν ὡς ἁπάντων ἐχόντων.
Therefore, a dispute arises concerning the whole genus; for those who have encountered either condition assume concerning all of them as if all had it.
§4.2.4συμβαίνει δὲ τοιοῦτον καὶ περὶ 4 τὰ πρόβατα καὶ τὰς αἶγας· τὰ μὲν γὰρ πλεῖστα τούτων ἔχει χολήν, ἀλλʼ ἐνιαχοῦ μὲν τοσαύτην ὥστε δοκεῖν τέρας εἶναι τὴν ὑπερβολήν, οἷον ἐν Νάξῳ, ἐνιαχοῦ δʼ οὐκ ἔχουσιν, οἷον ἐν Χαλκίδι τῆς Εὐβοίας κατά τινα τόπον τῆς χώρας αὐτῶν.
And such a thing happens also in 4 sheep and goats; for most of these have bile, but in some places it is so abundant that the excess seems to be a portent, as in Naxos, while in other places they do not have it, as in Chalcis of Euboea in a certain district of their country.
ἔτι δέ, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, ἡ τῶν ἰχθύων ἀπήρτηται πολὺ τοῦ ἥπατος.
Furthermore, as has been said, that of fish is detached far from the liver.
§4.2.5οὐκ ὀρθῶς δʼ ἐοίκασιν οἱ περὶ Ἀναξαγόραν ὑπολαμβάνειν 5 ὡς αἰτίαν οὖσαν τῶν ὀξέων νοσημάτων· ὑπερβάλλουσαν γὰρ ἀπορραίνειν πρὸς τε τὸν πλεύμονα καὶ τὰς φλέβας καὶ τὰ πλευρά.
And Anaxagoras and his followers do not seem to assume correctly 5 that bile is the cause of acute diseases; for they say that when it is in excess it spurts toward the lung, the veins, and the sides.
σχεδὸν γὰρ οἷς ταύτα συμβαίνει τὰ πάθη τῶν νόσων, οὐκ ἔχουσι χολήν, ἔν τε ταῖς ἀνατομαῖς ἂν ἐγίνετο τοῦτο φανερὸν· ἔτι δὲ τὸ πλῆθος τό τʼ ἐν τοῖς ἀρρωστήμασιν ὑπάρχον καὶ τὸ ἀπορραινόμενον ἀσύμβλητον.
For almost those who suffer these affections of diseases do not have bile, and this would have become apparent in dissections; furthermore, the quantity present in the illnesses and that which is said to spurt are incomparable.
§4.2.6ἀλλʼ ἔοικεν ἡ 6 χολή, καθάπερ καὶ ἡ κατὰ τὸ ἄλλο σῶμα γινομένη περίττωμά τί ἐστιν ἢ σύντηξις, οὕτω καὶ ἡ ἐπὶ τῷ ἥπατι χολὴ περίττωμα εἶναι καὶ οὐχ ἕνεκά τινος, ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐντέροις ὑπόστασις.
But indeed, 6 just as the residue or liquefaction that arises in the rest of the body is a residue, so also the bile on the liver seems to be a residue and not for the sake of anything, just like the sediment in the stomach and in the intestines.
§4.2.77 καταχρῆται μὲν οὖν ἐνίοτε ἡ φύσις εἰς τὸ ὠφέλιμον καὶ τοῖς περιττώμασιν, οὑ μὴν διὰ τοῦτο δεῖ ζητεῖν πάντα ἕνεκα τίνος, ἀλλὰ τινὼν ὄντων τοιούτων ἕτερα ἐξ ἀνάγκης συμβαίνει διὰ ταῦτα πολλά.
7 To be sure, nature sometimes makes use of even residues for some useful purpose, yet one must not on this account seek for the sake of what everything exists, but rather, while certain things are of this character, many other things happen of necessity because of these.
§4.2.88 ὅσοις μὲν οὖν ἡ τοῦ ἥπατος σύστασις ὑγιεινὴ ἐστι καὶ ἡ τοῦ αἵματος φύσις γλυκεῖα ἡ εἰς τοῦτʼ ἀποκρινομένη, ταύτα μὶν ἢ πάμπαν οὐκ ἴσχει χολὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἥπατος, ἢ ἔν τισι φλεβίοις, ἢ τὰ μὲν τὰ δʼ οὔ.
8 Therefore, in those where the composition of the liver is healthy and the nature of the blood that is separated into it is sweet, these either do not have bile on the liver at all, or have it in some small veins, or some individuals have it and others do not.
διὸ καὶ τὰ ἥπατα τὰ τῶν ἀχόλων εὔχρω καὶ γλυκερά ἐστιν ὡς ἐπίπαν εἰπεῖν, καὶ τῶν ἐχόντων χολὴν τὸ ὑπὸ τῇ χολῇ τοῦ ἥπατος γλυκύτατόν ἐστιν.
For this reason, the livers of those without bile are well-colored and sweet, to speak generally, and even in those that have bile, the part of the liver beneath the bile is the sweetest.
§4.2.99 τῶν δὲ συνισταμένων ἐξ ἧττον καθαροῦ αἵματος τοῦτʼ ἐστὶν ἡ χολὴ τὸ γινόμενον περίττωμα.
But in those constituted from less pure blood, this bile is the residue that arises.
ἐναντίον τε γὰρ τῇ τροφῇ τὸ περίττωμα βούλεται εἶναι καὶ τῷ γλυκεῖ τὸ πικρὸν, καὶ τὸ αἷμα γλυκὺ τὸ ὑγιαῖνον.
For the residue tends to be contrary to the nourishment, and the bitter to the sweet, and healthy blood is sweet.
§4.2.1010 φανερὸν οὖν ὅτι οὔ τινος ἕνεκα, ἀλλ ἀποκάθαρμά ἐστιν ἡ χολή.
10 It is clear, therefore, that bile is not for the sake of anything, but is a purification.
διὸ καὶ χαριέστατα λέγουσι τῶν ἀρχαίων οἱ φάσκοντες αἴτιον εἶναι τοῦ πλείω ζῆν χρόνον τὸ μὴ ἔχειν χολὴν, βλέψαντες ἐπὶ τὰ μώνυχα καὶ τὰς ἐλάφους· ταῦτα γὰρ ἄχολά τε καὶ ξῇ πολὺν χρόνον.
Therefore, those of the ancients speak most elegantly who claim that the cause of living a longer time is the absence of bile, looking at the solid-hoofed animals and the deer; for these lack bile and live for a long time.
§4.2.1111 ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὰ μὴ ἑωραμένα ὑπʼ ἐκείνων ὅτι οὐκ ἔχει χολήν, οἷον δελφὶς καὶ κάμηλος, καὶ ταῦτα τυγχάνει μακρόβια ὄντα.
11 Furthermore, even those which were not observed by them to lack bile, such as the dolphin and the camel, also happen to be long-lived.
εὔλογον γὰρ τὴν τοῦ ἥπατος φύσιν ἐπίκαιρον οὖσαν καὶ ἀναγκαίαν πᾶσι τοῖς ἐναίμοις ζῴοις αἰτίαν εἶναι, ποιάν τινʼ οὖσαν, τού ζῆν ἐλάττω πλείω χρόνον.
For it is reasonable that the nature of the liver, being vital and necessary to all red-blooded animals, being of a certain quality, should be the cause of living for a shorter or longer time.
§4.2.1212 καὶ τὸ τούτου μὲν τοῦ σπλάγχνου εἶναι περίττωμα τοιοῦτον, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων μηδενός, κατὰ λόγον ἐστίν.
12 And it is rational that there is such a residue of this organ, and of none of the others.
τῇ μὲν γὰρ καρδίᾳ τοιοῦτον οὐδένα πλησιάζειν οἷον τε χυμόν (οὐδὲν γὰρ δέχεται βίαιον πάθος), τῶν δʼ ἄλλων οὐδὲν σπλάγχνων ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστι τοῖς ζῴοις, τὸ δʼ ἧπαρ μόνον· διόπερ καὶ τοῦτο συμβαίνει περὶ αὐτὸ μόνον.
For it is impossible for any such humor to approach the heart (for it accepts no violent affection), and none of the other internal organs is necessary to animals, but only the liver; therefore this happens concerning it alone.
§4.2.13ἄτοπόν τε τὸ μὴ πανταχοῦ νομίζειν, ὅπου 13 ἄν τις ἴδῃ φλέγμα ἦ τὸ ὑπόστημα τῆς κοδιλίας, περίττωμα εἶναι, ὁμοίως δὲ δῆλον ὅτι καὶ χολήν, καὶ μὴ διαφέρεσθαι τοῖς τόποις.
And it is absurd not to believe everywhere, wherever 13 one sees phlegm or the sediment of the stomach, that it is a residue, and similarly obvious that bile is too, and not to differ because of the locations.