Humanitext Reader

Theophrastus · Fragments §178.1

Burrowing Habit and Numbing Power of the Torpedo Fish

Passage 184 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Quotations from Theophrastus stating that the torpedo fish burrows underground due to cold, and that it transmits a numbing power through wooden sticks and tridents to those holding them.

§178.1Fr. 178 Θ. ἐν τῷ περὶ τῶν φωλευόντων διὰ τὸ ψῦχος φησὶ τὴν νάρκην κατὰ γῆς δύεσθαι.
\nFr. 178\nTheophrastus, in his work *On Hibernating Animals*, says that the torpedo fish burrows under the ground because of the cold.
Ἐν δὲ τῷ περὶ τῶν δακέτων καὶ βλητικῶν διαπέμπεσθαί φησι τὴν νάρκην ἀπʼ αὐτῆς δύναμιν καὶ διὰ τῶν ξύλων καὶ διὰ τῶν τριοδόντων, ποιοῦσαν ναρκᾶν τοὺς ἐν χεροῖν ἔχοντας.
And in his work *On Biting and Stinging Creatures*, he says that the torpedo fish transmits a power from itself even through wooden shafts and through tridents, causing those who hold them in their hands to grow numb.

Notes

  1. §178.1διὰ τὸ ψῦχος — This adverbial phrase modifies the infinitive δύεσθαι ("burrows ... because of the cold") rather than the preceding participle τῶν φωλευόντων ("animals that hibernate because of the cold"). The title of Theophrastus' work is generally known simply as *On Hibernating Animals* (cf. Fr. 177).
  2. §178.1διαπέμπεσθαι ... τὴν νάρκην ἀπʼ αὐτῆς δύναμιν — The infinitive διαπέμπεσθαι (transitive middle, "to transmit/send out from oneself") has τὴν νάρκην (the torpedo fish) as its subject accusative and δύναμιν (power) as its object. ἀπʼ αὐτῆς refers back to the subject (the fish itself).
  3. §178.1ποιοῦσαν ναρκᾶν τοὺς ἐν χεροῖν ἔχοντας — The present participle ποιοῦσαν (feminine accusative singular) modifies the preceding δύναμιν. ποιέω with the infinitive ναρκᾶν expresses causation ("causing to grow numb"), and the subject of the infinitive is the accusative τοὺς ἐν χεροῖν ἔχοντας ("those holding [the wooden shafts or tridents] in their hands").

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §178.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:178.1

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