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Theophrastus · Fragments §189.1

Why the Chameleon Changes Color from Fear and Pneuma

Passage 195 of 196 · Greek

Summary

The passage explains that the chameleon changes color not as a strategy or to hide, but out of fear, which is linked to its body being almost entirely filled with lungs and thus rich in pneuma.

§189.1Fr. 189 Μεταβάλλει γὰρ ὁ μὲν χαμαιλέων οὐδέν τι μηχανώμενος οὐδὲ κατακρύπτων ἑαυτὸν ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ δέους ἄλλως τρέπεται φύσει ψοφοδεὴς ὢν καὶ δειλός· συνέπεται δὲ καὶ πνεύματος πλῆθος ὡς Θεόφραστος.
For the chameleon changes its color not by devising anything, nor by concealing itself, but simply turns because of fear, being by nature timid and easily frightened by noise; and, as Theophrastus says, a large quantity of breath (pneuma) also accompanies this.
Ὄλίγον γὰρ ἀποδεῖ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ζώου πλῆρες εἶναι πνεύροε μονος, ᾧ τεκμαίρεται τὸ πνευματικὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τὰς μεταβολὰς εὔτρεπτον.
For almost the whole body of the animal is full of lungs, by which its pneumatic nature is proved, and for this reason it is easily adaptable to changes.

Notes

  1. §189.1ὀλίγον γὰρ ἀποδεῖ — The construction 'ὀλίγον ἀποδεῖ' followed by the infinitive ('πᾶν τὸ σῶμα ... πλῆρες εἶναι') means 'it lacks little to be...', i.e., 'almost...'. Here, it indicates that almost the entire body is filled with lungs.
  2. §189.1πνεύροε μονος — This is a corruption or OCR error in the text. Based on the context and parallel passages such as Aristotle's *Historia Animalium* (503b13), it is interpreted and translated as 'πνεύμονος' (genitive singular of 'πνεύμων', meaning 'lung').
  3. §189.1ᾧ — A relative pronoun in the neuter dative singular. Its antecedent is not a specific noun but the entire content of the preceding clause (that almost the whole body is filled with lungs). The dative functions as a dative of means or ground of judgment ('by which').

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §189.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:189.1

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