§10.43Διὰ τί τῶν ζῴων οὐθὲν λιθιᾷ ἀλλ’ ἢ ἄνθρωπος;
Why is it that no animal except man suffers from stone?
ἢ ὅτι τῶν μὲν ὑποζυγίων καὶ τῶν πολυωνύχων οἱ πόροι τῆς κύστεως εὐρεῖς εἰσίν;
Is it because in beasts of burden and polydactylous animals the passages of the bladder are wide?
ὅσα δὲ μὴ τὸ πρῶτον, ὕστερον δὲ ζῳοτοκεῖ ἐν αὐτοῖς, οἷον ἔνιοι τῶν ἰχθύων, τούτων δὲ οὐδὲν κύστιν ἔχει, ἀλλ’ εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν αὐτοῖς ἡ τοιαύτη συνθλίβεται ὑπόστασις, οἷον καὶ τοῖς ὄρνισιν, ὥστε ταχὺ καὶ διεξέρχεται κατὰ τὴν ἕδραν.
On the other hand, those which are not viviparous at first but become viviparous later within themselves, such as some of the fish, none of these has a bladder, but such a sediment is squeezed into their belly, just as in birds, so that it quickly passes out through the vent.
ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος κύστιν τε ἔχει καὶ στενὸν τὸν καυλὸν ὡς κατὰ μέγεθος.
But man has both a bladder and a narrow duct in proportion to his size.
διὰ μὲν οὖν τὸ ἔχειν τοῦτο τὸ μόριον συνθλίβεται τὸ γεῶδες εἰς τὴν κύστιν (διὸ καὶ χρώζονται αἱ ἀμίδες ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ), διὰ δὲ τὴν θερμότητα τοῦ τόπου συμπέττεται καὶ παχύνεται μᾶλλον, ἐμμένει δὲ καὶ αὐξάνεται διὰ τὴν στενότητα τοῦ οὐρητῆρος· οὐ γὰρ δυνάμενα τὰ γεώδη ὑποστήματα ῥᾳδίως ὑπεξιέναι, πρὸς ἄλληλα ὑποστρεφόμενα γίνεται λίθος.
Because he has this part, the earthy sediment is squeezed into the bladder (which is why chamber-pots are colored by it), and because of the heat of the place it is concocted and thickened more, and it remains and increases because of the narrowness of the urethra; for since the earthy sediments cannot easily escape, they turn back upon one another and become a stone.
§10.44Διὰ τί οὐκ ἐρεύγεται τὰ ὑποζύγια, οὐδὲ οἱ βόες καὶ τὰ κερατοφόρα, οὐδὲ οἱ ὄρνιθες;
Why is it that beasts of burden, oxen, horned animals, and birds do not belch?
ἢ διὰ ξηρότητα τῆς κοιλίας;
Is it because of the dryness of their belly?
ταχὺ γὰρ ἀναλίσκεται τὸ ὑγρὸν καὶ διηθεῖται· ἐμμένοντος δὲ καὶ πνευματουμένου γίνεται ὁ ἐρευγμός.
For the moisture is quickly consumed and strained off; but belching occurs when moisture remains and becomes flatulent.
τοῖς δὲ λοφούροις διὰ μῆκος τοῦ αὐχένος εἰς τὸ κάτω ὁρμᾷ τὸ πνεῦμα, διὸ καὶ ἀποψοφοῦσι μάλιστα.
On the other hand, in bushy-tailed animals, because of the length of the neck, the breath rushes downwards, which is why they fart most of all.
οἱ ὄρνιθες δὲ καὶ τὰ κερατοφόρα οὐ ποιεῖ οὐδέτερον.
But birds and horned animals do neither.
οὐδὲ ἐρεύγονται δὲ ὅσα μηρυκάζει, διὰ τὸ πολλὰς ἔχειν κοιλίας καὶ τὸν καλούμενον κεκρύφαλον· διὰ πολλῶν οὖν γίνεται καὶ ἄνω καὶ κάτω τῷ πνεύματι ἡ πορεία, καὶ φθάνει ἀναλισκόμενον τὸ ὑγρὸν πρὶν ἐμπνευματωθῆναι καὶ ποιῆσαι ἢ ἐρυγεῖν ἢ ψοφῆσαι.
Nor do those animals belch which ruminate, because they have many bellies and the so-called reticulum; for the passage of the breath occurs through many channels both upwards and downwards, and the moisture is consumed before it becomes flatulent and causes either belching or farting.
§10.45Διὰ τί ὅσα μὲν ἥμερα τῶν ζῴων ἐστί, πάντως καὶ ἄγρια, ὅσα δὲ ἄγρια, οὐ πάντως ἥμερα;
Why is it that all animals which are tame are also wild, but those which are wild are not always tame?
καὶ γὰρ ἄνθρωποί που φαίνονται ἄγριοι ὄντες καὶ κύνες ἐν Ἰνδοῖς καὶ ἵπποι καὶ ἄλλοθι, ἀλλ’ οὐ λέοντες ἥμεροι οὐδὲ παρδάλεις οὐδ’ ἔχεις οὐδ’ ἄλλα πολλά.
For indeed human beings are seen to be wild in some places, and dogs among the Indians, and horses elsewhere, but lions are not tame, nor leopards, nor snakes, nor many other things.
ἢ ὅτι ῥᾷον τὸ φαῦλον καὶ γενέσθαι ἔξ ἀρχῆς καὶ μεταβαλεῖν εἰς αὐτό;
Is it because the inferior state is easier both to come into existence from the beginning and to change into?
ἡ γὰρ φύσις οὐχ ἡ πρώτη, ἀλλ’ ἡ ἐν τέλει ἐργώδης τυχεῖν εὐθύς.
For nature is not the first state, but the state at the end, which is laborious to attain immediately.
διὸ πάντα καὶ τὰ ἥμερα ἄγρια γίνονται τὸ πρῶτον μᾶλλον ἢ ἥμερα, οἷον παιδίον ἢ ἀνὴρ παμφάγον καὶ τῷ θυμῷ ζῶν· ἀλλὰ ἀσθενέστερα.
Therefore all things, even tame ones, are wild at first rather than tame, like a child or an omnivorous man who lives by passion; but they are weaker.
ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων τῆς τέχνης, οὕτως ἔχει καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τῆς φύσεως ἔργων.
Just as it is in the works of art, so it is in the works of nature.
καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τούτων πάντ’ ἐστὶ φαύλως εἰργασμένα, καὶ πλείω τὰ φαῦλα, κλίνη καὶ ἱμάτιον καὶ ἄλλ’ ὁτιοῦν.
For in these too, everything is at first poorly made, and the poor ones are more numerous, whether a bed, a cloak, or anything else.
καὶ ὃ μέν ἐστι καλόν, λαβεῖν ἔστιν ἅπαν καὶ φαῦλον, ὃ δὲ φαῦλον οὐ πᾶν καὶ καλόν, οἷον εἴ τις ἐπὶ τῶν ἀρχαίων γραφέων καὶ ἀνδριαντοποιῶν ἐπισκοπεῖ τὰ ἔργα· οὐ γὰρ ἦν πώποτε οὐδαμῇ γραφὴ σπουδαία οὐδὲ ἀνδριάς, φαῦλα δὲ ἦν.
And if a thing is good, it is possible to get all of them in a poor state, but what is poor cannot all become good, just as if one examines the works of ancient painters and sculptors; for there was never anywhere a fine painting or statue, but they were poor.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἡ φύσις φαῦλα μὲν πάντα ποιεῖ, καὶ πλείους καὶ πλείω, σπουδαῖα δ’ ἐλάττω, καὶ οὐ πάντα δύναται.
Likewise, nature also makes all things poor at first, both more in number and in quantity, but excellent things are fewer, and she cannot make everything so.
τὸ δὲ ἥμερον βέλτιον, τὸ δὲ ἄγριον φαῦλον.
And the tame is better, while the wild is inferior.
φύσει δὲ οὐ τῇ ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ἀλλ’ ἐφ’ ἣν οἶμαι †, ῥᾷον ποιεῖ σπουδαῖα καὶ ἥμερα.
And by nature, not the one from the beginning, but that towards which, I believe, [she tends], she more easily makes excellent and tame things.
τὰ δὲ ἐναντία ἢ οὐδέποτε ἢ μόλις, καὶ ἔν τισι τόποις καὶ ἐν χρόνοις, ἢ ἀρτίου, ἢ ποτὲ ἔν τινι κράσει τοῦ ὅλου, γίνονται ἥμερα τὰ ζῷα πάντα.
But the opposites happen either never or with difficulty, and only in certain places and times, or recently, or sometimes in a certain temperament of the whole, do all animals become tame.
τὸ δ’ αὐτὸ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν φυτῶν πάντων ἐστίν· ὅσα μὲν γὰρ ἥμερα, καὶ ἄγρια, οὐ πάντα δὲ δύναται ἡμεροῦσθαι, ἀλλ’ ὅμως εἰσὶν ἐν ἰδίᾳ χώρᾳ πρὸς πολλὰ ἰδίως ἔχοντα, ὥστε ἠμελημένα καὶ ἄγρια κρείττω καὶ ἡμερώτερα φύεσθαι τῶν ἐν ἄλλῃ γεωργουμένων.
And the same is true of all plants; for those which are cultivated are also wild, but not all wild ones can be cultivated, yet nevertheless they are in their own land peculiarly related to many things, so that when neglected and wild they grow better and more cultivated than those farmed in another land.