§20.1Διὰ τί τὸ ἁλυκὸν ὕδωρ τὰ μὲν σέλινα δέχεται, τὸ δὲ πράσον οὔ;
Why does salt water tolerate celery, but not leeks?
ἢ ὅτι τοῦ μὲν ἀσθενεῖς αἱ ῥίζαι, τοῦ δὲ ἰσχυραί;
Or is it because the roots of the former are weak, and of the latter strong?
τὸ δὲ ἰσχυρότερον ἀπαθέστερον.
And the stronger is more unaffected?
§20.2Διὰ τί λέγεται
μίνθην ἐν πολέμῳ μήτ’ ἔσθιε μήτε φύτευε;
Why is it said: "In war, neither eat nor plant mint"?
ἢ ὅτι καταψύχει τὰ σώματα;
Or is it because it cools the body?
δηλοῖ δὲ ἡ τοῦ σπέρματος φθορά.
And the destruction of the semen shows this.
τοῦτο δὲ ὑπεναντίον πρὸς ἀνδρείαν καὶ θυμὸν ταὐτὸν ὄν τῷ γένει.
And this is contrary to courage and spirit, which are the same in genus.
§20.3Διὰ τί ἔνια ἄνθος ἔχοντα ἄκαρπά ἐστιν, οἷον σίκυος καὶ κολόκυνθα καὶ ῥόα;
Why are some things that have a flower fruitless, such as the cucumber, the gourd, and the pomegranate?
ἢ οὐκ ἄκαρπα, ἀλλὰ ταῦτα καρπός ἐστιν;
Or are they not fruitless, but these very things are the fruit?
περικάρπιον γοῦν ἐστι τὸ ἀνθοῦν, ὁ δὲ σίκυος περικάρπιον.
At any rate, that which flowers is the pericarp, and the cucumber is a pericarp.
§20.4Διὰ τί τῶν φυομένων τὰ μὲν ἑψανά, τὰ δὲ ὠμὰ βρωτά;
Why is it that of growing plants, some are eaten boiled, others raw?
ἢ ὅσων οἱ χυμοὶ μὴ εὐθὺς ἐδώδιμοι, τούτων πυρωθέντων γλυκύτεροι γίνονται ὑπὸ τοῦ θερμοῦ, ὅσων δὲ εὐθύς, καὶ ὠμὰ ἐδώδιμα;
Or is it because, for those whose juices are not immediately edible, when they are heated, they become sweeter by the heat, but for those whose juices are immediately edible, they are edible even raw?
§20.5Διὰ τί τὰ μὲν ἑψανά, τὰ δὲ ὀπτανά;
Why are some boiled, and others roasted?
ἢ ὅτι τὰ μὲν ὑγρότερα οὐ τοσοῦτον, τὰ δὲ ξηρότερα οὐ μᾶλλον ξηρανθῆναι δεῖ;
Or is it because those that are more moist do not need [drying] so much, while those that are drier ought not to be dried further?
ἑψόμενα δὲ πάντα ὑγρότερα καὶ μαλακώτερα. τὰ δὲ ἧττον ὑγρὰ ἂν πυρωθῇ, γίνεται ξηρά.
For when boiled, all things become more moist and softer; but things that are less moist, if they are heated, become dry.
§20.6Διὰ τί δὲ τὰ μὲν ἄβρωτά ἐστι, τὰ δὲ βρωτά;
And why are some things inedible, and others edible?
ἢ διὰ τοὺς χυμούς;
Or is it due to their juices?
ὅσα γὰρ καὶ ὠμὰ ἀπέπτους ἔχει καὶ πυρούμενα μὴ μεταβάλλει, ἄβρωτα.
For whatever things both have indigestible juices when raw and do not change when heated, are inedible.
ὅσων δὲ βρωτὸς μὲν ὁ χυμὸς ἰσχυρότερος δέ, ταῦτα ἡδύσματά ἐστιν· τὰ γὰρ ἐν μικρῷ ἔχοντα πολλὴν δύναμιν τῶν βρωτῶν ἡδυντικὰ τῶν ἐν πολλῷ.
But those whose juice is edible but stronger, these are seasonings; for those of edible things which have great power in a small quantity are seasoning for those in a large quantity.
§20.7Διὰ τίνα αἰτίαν τὰ μὲν μέχρι σπέρματος τῶν φυτῶν ζῇ, εἶτα ἐνεγκόντα αὐαίνεται, οἷον ἡ πόα καὶ τὰ καλούμενα λάχανα, τὰ δὲ οὔ, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις φέρει;
For what reason do some plants live only until they seed, and then, having borne it, wither away, such as grass and the so-called pot-herbs, while others do not, but bear fruit many times?
καὶ τῶν μέχρι σπέρματος ζώντων τὰ μὲν πολλὰ ἐπέτεια, τὸ δὲ ἱπποσέλινον τῷ ὑστέρῳ ἔτει φέρει καρπόν, καὶ ἐνέγκαν ἐξαυαίνεται;
And among those that live only until seeding, most are annuals, but horse-celery bears fruit in the following year, and after bearing it, withers away completely?
ἢ ἅπαντα μὲν μέχρι τούτου ἀκμάζει, ἕως ἂν κατὰ τὸ σπέρμα ἀκμάζῃ;
Or do they all flourish up to this point, as long as they flourish in respect to seed?
ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι μέχρι τριάκοντα ἐτῶν ἐπιδιδόασιν, ὁτὲ μὲν τῷ πλήθει, ὁτὲ δὲ τῇ παχύτητι.
Since humans also develop up to thirty years, sometimes in height, sometimes in bulk.
ὅταν δὲ μηκέτι δύνηται φέρειν, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖ, αὐαίνεται καὶ καταγηράσκει· τὰ δὲ βραδέως καὶ κατὰ λόγον.
And when they can no longer bear offspring, just like there, they wither and grow old; but some plants do so slowly and proportionally.
δι’ ἣν μὲν οὖν αἰτίαν τὰ μὲν βραχύβια, τὰ δὲ μακρόβιά ἐστιν, ἄλλος ἔστω λόγος·
Now, as for the reason why some are short-lived and others long-lived, let that be another discussion.
ἐπεὶ δ’ ἔστιν πᾶσιν ὅρος ἡ τοῦ σπέρματος τελείωσις, ἀνάγκη τοῖς μὲν βραχυβίοις ἅπαξ ἢ ὀλιγάκις ἐνεγκεῖν καρπόν, τοῖς δὲ μακροβίοις πολλάκις, ὥστε τὰ μὲν ἀσθενέστατα ἅπαξ ἐνέγκοι (διὸ ἀνάγκη αὐαίνεσθαι)· καὶ τούτων τὰ μὲν δυνάμενα ἐνιαυτῷ ἐπέτεια εἶναι, τὰ δέ, ὥσπερ τὸ ἱπποσέλινον, τῷ ὑστέρῳ ἔτει, ὥσπερ τὰ δένδρα καὶ τὰ φυτά.
But since the limit for all is the maturation of the seed, it is necessary for the short-lived to bear fruit once or a few times, and for the long-lived many times, so that the weakest would bear fruit once (wherefore they must wither); and of these, some being able to do so in a year are annuals, while others, like horse-celery, in the following year, just like trees and other plants.
§20.8Διὰ τί σελίνου, ἐάν τις περιορύξας μέχρι κάτω πρὸς τὰς ῥίζας περιβάλλῃ τῶν καχρυδίων, εἶτα ἄνωθεν τὴν γῆν, καὶ οὕτως ἄρδῃ, παμμεγέθεις γίνονται αἱ ῥίζαι;
Why is it that, in the case of celery, if someone, having dug around it down to the roots, wraps it with chaff of parched barley, then covers it with earth from above, and waters it in this way, the roots become extremely large?
ἢ διότι τὸ καχρύδιον θερμὸν ὂν καὶ σομφὸν κατέχει μὲν σύνολκον τὴν τροφὴν καὶ οὐ προΐεται ἄνω, πέττει δὲ θερμὸν ὄν, ὥστε πολλὴν τὴν αὔξησιν γίνεσθαι;
Or because the chaff of parched barley, being warm and spongy, holds the nourishment together and does not let it go upwards, and, being warm, concocts it, so that great growth occurs?