§99 Οἱ ἀναιροῦντες ὡς οὐ τὸ θερμὸν τὸ ἐργαζόμενον ἐν τοῖς σώμασιν, ἢ ὅτι μία τις φορὰ καὶ δύναμις ἡ τμητικὴ τοῦ πυρός, οὐ καλῶς λέγουσιν.
9 Those who deny that heat is what active in bodies, or [assert] that the cutting action of fire is some single movement and power, do not speak correctly.
οὐδὲ γὰρ ὅλα τοῖς ἀψύχοις ταὐτὸ ποιεῖ πᾶσιν, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν πυκνοῖ, τὰ δὲ μανοῖ, καὶ τήκει, τὰ δὲ πήγνυσιν.
For it does not do the same thing to all inanimate things either, but some it condenses, others it rarefies, and melts, and others it solidifies.
ἐν δὲ δὴ τοῖς ἐμψύχοις οὕτως ὑποληπτέον, ὥσπερ φύδεως πῦρ ζητοῦντα, καθάπερ τέχνης· καὶ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς τέχναις ἕτερον τὸ χρυσοχοϊκὸν καὶ τὸ χαλκευτικὸν καὶ τὸ τεκτονικὸν πῦρ ἀποτελεῖ, καὶ τὸ μαγειρικόν.
And in animate things indeed we must assume in this way, as if seeking the fire of nature just like that of art; for indeed in arts, a different fire produces the work of the goldsmith, the coppersmith, the carpenter, and the cook.
ἴσως δʼ ἀληθέστερον ὅτι αἱ τέχναι· χρῶνται γὰρ ὥσπερ ὀργάνῳ μαλάττουσαι καὶ τήκουσαι καὶ ξηραίνουσαι, ἔνια δὲ καὶ ῥυθμίζουσαι.
But perhaps it is truer that the arts [produce them]; for they use [fire] as an instrument, softening, melting, and drying, and some also shaping.
τὸ αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ αἱ φύσεις· ὅθεν δὴ καὶ αἱ πρὸς ἄλληλα διαφοραί.
This same thing indeed applies to natures as well; whence indeed also their differences from one another.
διὸ γελοῖον πρὸς τὸ ἔξω κρίνειν· εἴτε γὰρ διακρῖνον εἴτε λεπτῦνον εἴθʼ ὁτιδήποτʼ ἐστὶ τὸ θερμαίνεσθαι καὶ πυροῦσθαι, διάφορα ἕξει τὰ ἔργα τοῖς χρωμένοις.
Therefore, it is ridiculous to judge by reference to what is external; for whether heating and being fired is separating, or thinning, or whatever it is, it will have different effects for those who use it.
ἀλλʼ αἱ μὲν τέχναι ὡς ὀργάνῳ χρῶνται, ἡ δὲ φύσις ἅμα καὶ ὡς ὕλῃ.
But while arts use it as an instrument, nature uses it also as matter.
οὐ δὴ τοῦτο χαλεπόν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τὸ τὴν φύσιν αὐτὴν νοῆσαι τὴν χρωμένην, ἥτις ἅμα τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς πάθεσι καὶ τὸν ῥυθμὸν ἀποδώσει.
Now this is not difficult, but rather to conceive nature itself which uses it, which will render both the sensible affections and the proportion.
τοῦτο γὰρ οὐκέτι πυρὸς οὐδὲ πνεύματος.
For this is no longer of fire or of breath.
τούτοις δὴ καταμεμεῖχθαι τοιαύτην δύναμιν θαυμαστόν.
That such a power is mixed with these is indeed wonderful.
ἔτι δὲ τοῦτο θαυμαστὸν ταὐτὸν καὶ περὶ ψυχῆς· ἐν τούτοις γὰρ ὑπάρχει.
And further, this same wonderful thing is also concerning the soul; for it exists in these.
διόπερ οὐ κακῶς εἰς ταὐτόν, ἢ ἀπλῶς ἢ μόριόν τι τὸ δημιουργοῦν, καὶ τὸ τὴν κίνησιν ἀεὶ τὴν ὁμοίαν ὑπάρχειν ἐνεργοῦν.
Therefore, it is not bad to bring to the same thing, either simply or as some part, that which fashions and that which always effects the similar movement to exist.
καὶ γὰρ ἡ φύσις, ἀφʼ ἧς καὶ ἡ γένεσις.
For indeed nature [is that] from which also generation [comes].
ἀλλὰ δὴ τίς ἡ διαφορὰ τοῦ καθʼ ἕκαστον θερμοῦ, εἴθʼ ὡς ὄργανον εἴθʼ ὡς ὕλην εἴθʼ ὡς ἄμφω;
But what indeed is the difference of the individual heat, whether as an instrument, or as matter, or as both?
πυρὸς γὰρ διαφοραὶ κατὰ τὸ μᾶλλον καὶ ἧττον.
For the differences of fire are according to the more and less.
τοῦτο δὲ σχεδὸν ὥσπερ ἐν μίξει καὶ ἀμιξίᾳ· τὸ γὰρ καθαρώτερον μᾶλλον.
And this is almost as in mixture and unmixture; for the purer is more.
ὁ αὐτὸς δὲ λόγος καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπλῶν.
And the same account applies to the other simple elements as well.
ἀνάγκη γάρ, ἐπείπερ ἕτερον ὀστοῦν καὶ σὰρξ ἵππου καὶ βοός, ἢ τῷ ἐξ ἑτέρων εἶναι ἢ τῇ χρήσει διαφέρειν.
For it is necessary, since the bone and flesh of a horse and an ox are different, either that they are from different things or differ in their use.
εἰ μὲν οὖν ἕτερα, τίνες αἱ διαφοραὶ ἑκάστου τῶν ἁπλῶν καὶ τίς ταύτας γὰρ ζητοῦμεν.
If then they are different, what are the differences of each of the simple elements, and what [is the proportion]? For these are what we are seeking.
εἰ δὲ ταὐτά, τοῖς λόγοις ἂν διαφέροι.
But if they are the same, they would differ in their proportions.
ἀνάγκη γὰρ δυοῖν θάτερον, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις· οἴνου μὲν γὰρ καὶ μέλιτος κρᾶσις διὰ τὸ ὑποκείμενον, οἴνου δʼ αὐτοῦ, εἴπερ ἑτέρα, διὰ τὸν λόγον.
For one of the two is necessary, just as in other things; for the mixture of wine and honey is due to the substrate, but that of wine itself, if indeed it is different, is due to the proportion.
διὸ καὶ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς μίαν ἀπλῶς τὴν τοῦ ὀστοῦ φύσιν εἴπερ ἅπαντα τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον ἔχει τῆς μίξεως, ἀδιάφορα ἐχρῆν ἵππου καὶ λέοντος καὶ ἀνθρώπου εἶναι.
Therefore Empedocles also [said] that the nature of bone is simply one. If indeed all had the same proportion of mixture, those of a horse, a lion, and a human ought to have been indistinguishable.
νῦν δὲ διαφέρει σκληρότητι, μαλακότητι, πυκνότητι, τοῖς ἄλλοις ὁμοίως καὶ σὰρξ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα μόρια.
But now they differ in hardness, softness, density, and likewise flesh and the other parts.
ἔτι δὲ τὰ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ ζῴῳ διαφέρουσι πυκνότητι καὶ μανότητι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις, ὥστʼ οὐχ ἡ αὐτὴ κρᾶσις.
And further, the parts in the same animal differ in density and rarity and the others, so that there is not the same mixture.
παχὺ μὲν γὰρ καὶ λεπτὸν καὶ μέγα καὶ μικρὸν ἂν εἴη ἐν τῷ ποσῷ, σκληρὸν δὲ καὶ πυκνὸν καὶ τὰ ἐναντία τούτοις ἐν τῷ ποιῷ τῷ τῆς μίξεως.
For thick and thin and great and small would be in quantity, but hard and dense and their contraries in the quality of the mixture.
ἀναγκαῖον δὲ τοῖς οὕτω λέγουσιν εἰδέναι, πῶς τὸ δημιουργοῦν ἕτερον εἴη ἂν καὶ τῷ τοῦτο πλέον ἢ ἔλαττον εἶναι, καὶ τῷ καθʼ αὐτὸ καὶ τῷ μεμειγμένῳ ἢ ἐν ἄλλῳ πυροῦσθαι.
And it is necessary for those who thus speak to know how the fashioning cause would be different, both by this being more or less, and by being fired by itself, or as mixed or in another.
ἅμα γὰρ ἐγκαταμείγνυται καὶ ποιεῖ τὸ τῆς φύσεως.
For it is mixed in at the same time and produces the work of nature.
ἄρα ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ περὶ σαρκὸς λόγος· καὶ γὰρ αἱ αὐταὶ διαφοραί, σχεδὸν δὲ καὶ περὶ φλεβὸς καὶ ἀρτηρίας καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν.
Therefore, the same account applies to flesh as well; for there are the same differences, and almost also concerning vein and artery and the rest.
ὥστε δυεῖν θάτερον, ἢ οὐχ εἶς ὁ λόγος τούτων κατὰ τὴν μίξιν, ἢ οὐ σκληρότητι καὶ πυκνότητι καὶ τοῖς ἐναντίοις τοὺς λόγους ληπτέον.
So that one of the two is necessary, either the proportion of these according to mixture is not one, or we must not grasp the proportions by hardness and density and their contraries.