§21.19Διὰ τί μετὰ τοῦ ἀλφίτου πινόμενον τὸ γάλα καὶ ὁ γλυκὺς φαίνεται γλυκύτερα;
Why do milk and sweet wine, when drunk with barley-meal, appear sweeter?
πότερον οὖν παρὰ τὸ μὴ γλυκὺ μᾶλλον φαίνεται;
Is it then by contrast with what is not sweet that they appear sweeter?
τὸ γὰρ ἄλφιτον οὐ γλυκύ.
For barley-meal is not sweet.
ἢ ὅτι ἐνδιατρίβει τὸ ἄλφιτον ἔχον γλυκύτητα, ὥστε πλείονι χρόνῳ ἡ αἴσθησις.
Or is it because the barley-meal, holding the sweetness, remains in the mouth, so that the sensation lasts for a longer time?
§21.20Διὰ τί ἧττον ἄκρατον φαίνεται τὸ αὐτὸ πόμα μετὰ τοῦ ἀλφίτου πινόμενον;
Why does the same drink, when drunk with barley-meal, appear less strong?
πότερον ἢ ὅτι κεράννυσιν ἄλλο ἔχον μετ’ ἄλλου;
Is it because it mixes one thing with another?
ἢ ὅτι ἀντιφράττει τῷ πόματι καὶ ἀφανίζει, ἀντισπῶν εἰς αὑτό;
Or because it obstructs the drink and makes it disappear, drawing it into itself?
§21.21Διὰ τί ὁ χόνδρος πλεῖον ὕδωρ δέχεται ἢ οἱ πυροὶ ἐξ ὧν ὁ τοιοῦτος ἐγένετο χόνδρος;
Why does groats receive more water than the wheat from which such groats were made?
ἢ ὅτι ἄλευρά πώς ἐστιν ὁ χόνδρος, τὰ δὲ ἄλευρα πλεῖον δέχεται.
Or is it because groats are in a way flour, and flour receives more?
καὶ γὰρ γίνεται ὁ ὄγκος πλείων ἢ ὁ τῶν πυρῶν· σέσακται γὰρ καὶ τὰ ἐν τοῖς πυροῖς.
For indeed, its volume becomes greater than that of the wheat; for even what is in the wheat is compressed.
τὰ δὲ πλείω χωρεῖ πλεῖον.
And what is greater in volume holds more.
καὶ τοῦτο καὶ ὅτι ἔχει θερμότητα καὶ τὰ ἄλευρα καὶ ὁ χόνδρος.
This is both due to this and because both flour and groats possess heat.
τὸ δὲ θερμὸν καὶ ἕλκει μᾶλλον τὸ ὑγρόν, καὶ ἐξαναλίσκει ἐξατμίζον.
And heat both draws moisture more and consumes it by evaporating it.
§21.22Διὰ τί τὸ ἄλευρον τριβόμενον μεῖζον πολὺ γίνεται ἢ τὸ ἄλφιτον κατὰ λόγον;
Why does flour, when kneaded, become much larger in volume than barley-meal, in proportion?
ἢ ὅτι τὸ μὲν πολὺ ὕδωρ δέχεται, τὸ δὲ ὀλίγον;
Or is it because the former receives much water, while the latter receives little?
διὰ τί δὲ δέχεται πλεῖον;
But why does it receive more?
μᾶλλον γὰρ εἰκὸς τὸ ἄλφιτον πεπύρωται γάρ, τὸ δὲ ἄπυρον· μᾶλλον δὲ ξηρὸν τὸ πεπυρωμένον.
For it would be more reasonable for barley-meal to do so, since it has been parched, while the flour is unparched; and what has been parched is drier.
ἢ διότι τρῖψιν μᾶλλον δέχεται τὸ ἄλευρον;
Or is it because flour is more receptive to kneading?
τούτου δὲ αἴτιον τὸ μικρομερέστερον εἶναι.
And the cause of this is that it consists of smaller particles.
ὥσπερ οὖν ὁσαπλάσιον δυνάμει ἐστὶ τῇ μικρότητι, τοσαυταπλάσιον δέχεται τὸ ὕδωρ.
Therefore, in proportion to how many times greater it is potentially in its fineness, so many times more water does it receive.
κόλλῃ γὰρ χρῆται τῷ ὕδατι, ὥσπερ καὶ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς μετήνεγκεν ἐν τοῖς Φυσικοῖς εἰπὼν
ἄλφιτον ὕδατι κολλήσας
.
For it uses water as glue, just as Empedocles also metaphorically expressed in his Physics, saying: "glueing barley-meal with water".
καὶ ἀναλίσκει πολὺ διὰ τοῦτο.
And for this reason it consumes a lot.
§21.23Διὰ τί δὲ καὶ πεπυρωμένον τὸ σταῖς μεῖζον γίνεται ἢ ἡ μᾶζα;
And why, when baked, does wheat dough become larger than barley-cake?
ἢ ὅτι ἔχει ὑγρὸν οὐ κεχωρισμένον, ὥστε ἐξιέναι θερμαινόμενον, οὐ πνεῦμα γινόμενον, καὶ οὐ δυνάμενον ἐξιέναι ὁμοίως καὶ ἐν τῇ μάζῃ διὰ τὴν πυκνότητα τοῦ σταιτός (πυκνὸν γὰρ τὸ ἐκ μικρομερεστέρων), αἴρει [οὖν] καὶ ποιεῖ τὸν ὄγκον.
Or is it because it contains moisture that is not separated so as to escape when heated, but rather becomes vapor, and since it cannot escape in the same way as in the barley-cake because of the density of the wheat dough (for what is made of smaller parts is dense), it consequently raises it and produces the volume?
ἔτι δὲ καὶ πλεῖον ἔχει τὸ ὑγρόν, ἐξ οὗ θερμαινομένου πνεῦμα γίνεται· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ πλείονος ἀνάγκη γίνεσθαι πλεῖον.
And furthermore, it contains more moisture, from which vapor is produced when heated; and from a greater amount of moisture, there must of necessity be produced a greater amount of vapor.
§21.24Διὰ τί οἱ περὶ τὴν τῶν σίτων ἐργασίαν, οἱ μὲν περὶ τὰς κριθὰς ἄχροοι γίνονται καὶ καταρροϊκοί, οἱ δὲ περὶ τοὺς πυροὺς εὐεκτικοί;
Why is it that among those engaged in the processing of grain, those who work with barley become pale and subject to catarrhs, while those who work with wheat are healthy?
ἢ διότι εὐπεπτότερος ὁ πυρὸς τῆς κριθῆς, διόπερ καὶ αἱ ἀπόρροιαι;
Is it because wheat is more easily digested than barley, and therefore its emanations are so too?
§21.25Διὰ τί ὁ ἄρτος, ἐὰν μέν τις αὐτὸν ὀπτᾷ, σκληρότερος γίνεται, ἐὰν δέ τις αὐτὸν χλιαίνῃ, ὑγρότερος ἄχρι τινός;
Why does bread, if one bakes it, become harder, but if one warms it up, it becomes moister up to a certain point?
ἢ ὅτι ὀπτωμένου αὐτοῦ τὸ ὑγρὸν ἐκπορεύεται;
Is it because, when it is being baked, the moisture departs?
σκληρότερος οὖν γίνεται·
Therefore it becomes harder.
ἐπιθερμαινομένου δὲ τὸ ὑγρὸν συσταθὲν διαχεῖται ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρός, διὸ ὑγρότεροι γίνονται.
But when it is warmed up, the moisture that has condensed is dispersed by the heat, and therefore it becomes moister.
§21.26Διὰ τί τὰ μὲν ἄλευρα ψυχόμενα ἧττον σάττεται, τὰ δὲ ἄλφιτα μᾶλλον;
Why does wheat flour, when cooled, pack less, but barley-meal more?
ἢ ὅτι τὰ μὲν μικρομερῆ οὐ διαλείπει χώραν, καὶ τὰ βαρέα τῇ θλίψει τὰ πλείω ἐλάττω κατέχει τὸ ἴσον;
Is it because the former, being of small particles, leave no empty space, and being heavy, under pressure a greater quantity occupies a smaller or equal space?
τὰ μὲν οὖν ἄλφιτα ἁδρά ἐστιν.
Now, barley-meal is coarse.
ψυχόμενα οὖν ἐλάττω γίνεται, ὥστε τὸ ἔλαττον συμπιέζει τὸ πλέον.
Therefore, when cooled, it becomes smaller in volume, so that what has become smaller compresses what is larger.
τὰ δὲ ἄλευρα ὑπάρχει μὲν μικρομερῆ ὄντα, ὥστε οὐ διὰ τοῦτο ψύχεται, ἀλλ’ ἵνα ᾖ κουφότερα καὶ μὴ σάττηται διὰ τὴν θλῖψιν· βαρύτερον γὰρ φύσει τὸ ἄλευρον τοῦ ἀλφίτου ἐστίν.
While wheat flour is already fine-grained, so it is not cooled for this reason, but rather so that it may be lighter and not become packed due to pressure; for by nature wheat flour is heavier than barley-meal.