§3#1## III
lib. II, 421a5—422a24
ὅτι οὐ δέχονται τὸν ἀέρα οὐδʼ ἀναπνέουσιν· δἰ ἣν δʼ αἰτίαν, ἕτερος ἔσται περὶ αὐτῶν λόγος.
that they do not admit air nor breathe; but for what cause, there will be another discussion concerning them.
περὶ δὲ ὀσμῆς καὶ τοῦ ὀσφραντοῦ οὐκ ἔστι ῥᾴδιον διορίσαι ὁμοίως τοῖς εἰρημένοις αἰσθητοῖς, τί ἐστιν ἡ ὀσμὴ οὕτως ὡς ὁ ψόφος καὶ τὸ φῶς, αἴτιον δʼ ὅτι οὐκ ἔχομεν ἀκριβῆ ταύτην τὴν αἴσθησιν, ἀλλὰ χείριστα ὀσμᾶται ἄνθρωπος τῶν ζῴων, καὶ οὐδεμίαν ἄνευ τοῦ λυπηροῦ καὶ ἡδέος δύναται αἰσθέσθαι ὀσμήν, ὡς τοῦ αἰσθητηρίου ὄντος οὐκ ἀκριβοῦς.
But concerning smell and the object of smell, it is not easy to define, in the same way as the already mentioned objects of sensation, what smell is, in the way that sound and light are. The cause is that we do not possess this sense in an accurate form, but man smells worst of all animals, and cannot perceive any smell without pain or pleasure, on the ground that the sensory organ is not accurate.
ὥσπερ οὖν τοῖς σκληροφθάλμοις ἀδήλους εἰκός εἶναι τὰς διαφορὰς τῶν χρωμάτων καὶ συγκεχυμένας, ἀλλὰ τῷ φοβερῷ καὶ τῷ ἀφόβῳ διορίζειν μόνον, οὕτω καὶ τὰ περὶ τὰς ὀσμὰς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἐπεὶ ἔοικέ τε ἀνάλογον ἔχειν πρὸς γεῦσιν καὶ ὅμοια τὰ εἴδη τῶν· χυμῶν τοῖς τῆς ὀσμῆς·
Just as, then, for hard-eyed creatures, the differences of colors are likely to be indistinct and confused, and they distinguish them only by what is fearsome and what is not fearsome, so too are the things concerning smells for humans. For smell seems to have an analogy to taste, and the species of flavors are similar to those of smell.
ἀλλὰ τὴν γεῦσιν ἔχομεν ἀκριβεστέραν διὰ τὸ εἶναι ἁφρήν τινα αὐτήν· ταύτην δʼ ἔχει τὴν αἴσθησιν ἀκριβεστάτην ἄνθρωπος·
But we possess taste in a more accurate form because of its being a kind of touch; and man has this sense in the most accurate degree.
ἐν μὲν γὰρ ταῖς ἄλλαις λείπεται πολλῶν ζῴων, τῶν δʼ ἁπτῶν αἰσθάνεται μάλιστα ἀκριβῶς.
For in the other senses he falls short of many animals, but of objects of touch he perceives most accurately.
διὸ καὶ φρονιμώτατον τῶν ζῴων ἐστίν.
For which reason he is also the most intelligent of animals.
σημεῖον δέ· καὶ γὰρ αὐτῶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων εὐφυεῖς οἱ δʼ ἀφυεῖς εἰσὶ παῤ οὐδὲν αἰσθητήριον ἕτερον, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τοῦτο.
A sign of this is that even among humans themselves, those who are naturally gifted and those who are not are so in virtue of no other sensory organ but this.
ὧν μὲν γὰρ ἡ σὰρξ μαλακή, εὐφυεῖς, οἱ δὲ σκληρόσαρκοι ἀφυεῖς τὴν διάνοιαν.
For those whose flesh is soft are naturally gifted, while those with hard flesh are naturally ungifted in intellect.
ἔστι δʼ ὥσπερ χνμὸς ὁ μὲν γλυκὺς ὁ δὲ πικρός, καὶ ὀσμαὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ἔχουσαι τρόπον.
And just as flavor is on the one hand sweet and on the other bitter, so smells are in the same condition.
ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἔχει τὴν ἀνάλογον ὀσμὴν καὶ χυμόν, τὰ δὲ τοὐναντίον.
But some things have the analogous smell and flavor, while others the contrary.
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ δριμεῖα καὶ αὐστηρὰ καὶ ὀξεῖα καὶ λιπαρὰ ἔστιν ὀσμή.
Similarly, there is also pungent, harsh, sharp, and oily smell.
ἄλλʼ, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, διὰ τὸ μὴ σφόδρα διαδήλους εἶναι τὰς ὀσμὰς ὥσπερ τοὺς χυμούς, ἀπὸ τούτων εἴληφε τὰ ὀνόματα καθʼ ὁμοιότητα τῶν πραγμάτων, ἡ μὲν γλυκεῖα κρόκου καὶ μέλιτος, ἡ δὲ δριμεῖα θύμου καὶ τῶν τοιούτων· τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων.
But, as has been said, because smells are not very clearly distinct like flavors, they have taken their names from these latter in virtue of the similarity of things: the sweet smell of saffron and honey, and the pungent smell of thyme and such things; and in the same way for the others.
ἔστι δʼ ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ ἀκοὴ καὶ ἑκάστη τῶν αἰσθήσεων τοῦ τε ἀκουστοῦ καὶ ἀνηκούστου, καὶ ὁρατοῦ καὶ ἀοράτου, καὶ ἡ ὄσφρησις τοῦ ὀσφραντοῦ καὶ ἀνοσφράντου.
And just as hearing and each of the senses is of the audible and inaudible, and of the visible and invisible, so too smell is of the smellable and unsmellable.
ἀνόσφραντον δὲ τὸ μὲν τὸ ὅλως ἀδύνατον ἔχειν ὀσμήν, τὸ δὲ τὸ μικρὰν ἔχον καὶ τὸ φαύλην, ὥσπερ τό ἄγευστον ὡσαύτως έγεται.
And the unsmellable is on the one hand that which is completely impossible to have a smell, and on the other hand that which has a slight and poor smell, just as the tasteless is spoken of in the same way.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἡ ὄσφρησις διὰ τοῦ μεταξύ, οἷον ὕδατος καὶ ἀέρος· καὶ γὰρ τὰ ἔνυδρα φαίνεται αἰσθανόμενα ὀσμῆς, καὶ τὰ ἔναιμα καὶ ἄναιμα ὁμοίως, ὥσπερ καὶ τὰ ἐν τῷ ἀέρι· καὶ γὰρ τούτων ἔνια πόρρωθεν ἀπαντᾷ πρὸς τὴν τροφὴν αἰσθανόμενα τὴν ὀσμήν·
And smell also occurs through a medium, such as water and air; for aquatic creatures also appear to perceive smell, and red-blooded and bloodless creatures alike, just as those in the air do; for some of these also travel from afar towards food when they perceive its smell.
διὸ καὶ ἔχει ἀπορίαν εἰ πάντα μὲν ὡσαύτως ὀσμᾶται, ὁ δʼ ἄνθρωπος ἀναπνέων, μὴ ἀναπνέων δὲ ἀλλʼ ἢ κατέχων τὸ πνεῦμα ἢ ἐκπνέων οὐκ ὀσμᾶται, οὔτε πόρρω οὔτʼ ἐγγύς, οὐδʼ ἂν ἐπιθῇ τις εἰς τὸν μυκτῆρα ἐντός.
For which reason it also presents a difficulty: if all things smell in the same way, why does man smell when breathing, but when not breathing, but either holding his breath or exhaling, he does not smell, neither far off nor near, not even if someone places the object inside into the nostril.