§66.
6.
ἔχει δὲ οὕτω καὶ τόδε· ὁτὲ μὲν ἰσχυρότερόν ἐστι τὸ μεθιέμενον ἀπὸ τῆς γυναικὸς, ὁτὲ δὲ ἀσθενέστερον· καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ὡσαύτως·
This is also the case: sometimes that which is released from the woman is stronger, and sometimes weaker; and that from the man likewise.
καὶ ἔστι καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀνδρὶ τὸ θῆλυ σπέρμα καὶ τὸ ἄρσεν, καὶ ἐν τῇ γυναικὶ ὁμοίως· ἰσχυρότερον δέ ἐστι τὸ ἄρσεν τοῦ θήλεος· ἀνάγκη γὰρ ἀπὸ ἰσχυροτέρου σπέρματος γίνεσθαι.
Both female and male seed exist in the man, and likewise in the woman; and the male is stronger than the female, for it is necessary that [the male] arises from stronger seed.
Ἔχει δὲ καὶ τόδε οὕτω· ἢν μὲν ἀπ’ ἀμφοτέρων τὸ σπέρμα ἰσχυρότερον ἔλθῃ, ἄρσεν γίνεται· ἢν δὲ ἀσθενὲς, θῆλυ·
And this is also the case: if on the one hand the stronger seed comes from both, a male is produced; but if weak, a female.
ὁκότερον δ’ ἂν κρατήσῃ κατὰ πλῆθος, ἐκεῖνο καὶ γίνεται· ἢν γὰρ πολλῷ πλέον τὸ ἀσθενὲς σπέρμα ᾖ τοῦ ἰσχυροτέρου, κρατέεται τὸ ἰσχυρὸν καὶ μιχθὲν τῷ ἀσθενεῖ ἐς θῆλυ περιηνέχθη· ἢν δὲ πλέον ἔῃ τὸ ἰσχυρὸν τοῦ ἀσθενέος, κρατηθῇ τε τὸ ἀσθενὲς, ἐς ἄρσεν περιηνέχθη.
Whichever of the two prevails in quantity, that is what is produced; for if the weak seed is much more than the stronger, the stronger is mastered and, being mixed with the weak, is turned into a female; but if the stronger is more than the weak, and the weak is mastered, it is turned into a male.
Ὥσπερ εἴ τις κηρὸν καὶ στέαρ μίξας ὁμοῦ, πλέον ποιήσας τὸ στέαρ, τήξειε πρὸς πυρὶ, μέχρι μὲν ὑγρὸν ἔῃ, οὐ διάδηλον γίνεται τὸ κρατέον· ἐπὴν δὲ παγῇ, τότ’ ἐμφανὲς γίνεται, ὅτι κρατέει τὸ στέαρ τοῦ κηροῦ κατὰ πλῆθος· οὕτως ἔχει καὶ τοῦ ἄρσενος καὶ τοῦ θήλεος τῆς γονῆς.
It is just as if someone, having mixed wax and fat together, having made the fat more, should melt them on the fire: as long as it is liquid, that which prevails is not apparent; but when it solidifies, then it becomes clear that the fat prevails over the wax in quantity; so it is also with the male and female seed.
§77.
7.
Ξυμβάλλεσθαι δὲ παρέχει ὅτι καὶ ἐν τῇ γυναικὶ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀνδρὶ ἔστι γόνος καὶ θήλεος καὶ ἄρσενος τοῖσιν ἐμφανέσι γινομένοισι·
What happens in manifest cases allows us to infer that both in the woman and in the man there is both female and male seed.
πολλαὶ γὰρ γυναῖκες ἤδη ἐθηλυτόκησαν παρ’ ἀνδράσιν ἰδίοις, παρὰ δὲ ἑτέρους ἄνδρας ἐλθοῦσαι ἐκουροτόκησαν· καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ αὐτοὶ κεῖνοι παρ’ οἷσιν ἐθηλυτόκεον αἱ γυναῖκες, ἑτέρων γυναικῶν ἐς μίξιν ἀφικόμενοι, ἄρσενα γόνον ἐποίησαν, καὶ οἷσιν ἄρσην γόνος ἐγίνετο, ἐς ἑτέρας γυναῖκας μιχθέντες θῆλυν γόνον ἐποίησαν.
For many women have already borne daughters with their own husbands, but going to other men, they bore sons; and those same men with whom the women bore daughters, having come to intercourse with other women, begot male offspring, and those for whom male offspring was produced, having mixed with other women, begot female offspring.
Οὗτος ὁ λόγος ἐρέει καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα ἔχειν καὶ θῆλυν γόνον καὶ ἄρσενα· παρὰ μὲν γὰρ τοῖσιν ἐθηλυτόκεον, ἐκρατέετο τὸ ἰσχυρότερον, πλέονος γενομένου τοῦ ἀσθενέος, καὶ ἐγένετο θήλεα· παρὰ δὲ τοῖσιν ἐκουροτόκεον, ἐκράτεε τὸ ἰσχυρότερον, καὶ ἐγένετο ἄρσενα·
This argument shows that both the man and the woman have both female and male seed; for with those with whom they bore daughters, the stronger was mastered, since the weak became more, and females were produced; but with those with whom they bore sons, the stronger prevailed, and males were produced.
χωρέει δὲ οὐκ ἀεὶ τοῦτο ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτέου ἀνδρὸς ἰσχυρὸν, οὐδὲ ἀσθενὲς ἀεὶ, ἀλλ’ ἄλλοτε ἀλλοῖον.
And this [seed] does not always go out strong from the same man, nor always weak, but different at different times.
Καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς οὕτως ἔχει· ὡς μὴ θαυμάζειν τὰς αὐτὰς γυναῖκας καὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἄνδρας γόνον καὶ ἄρσενα καὶ θῆλυν ποιέειν.
And it is the same with the woman, so that one should not wonder that the same women and the same men produce both male and female offspring.
Ἔχει δὲ καὶ τοῖσι κτήνεσιν οὕτω τὰ περὶ γονῆς θήλεος καὶ ἄρσενος.
It is also the case with beasts regarding the female and male seed.
§88.
8.
Καὶ ἐν αὐτῇφι τῇ γονῇ ἐξέρχεται καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀπὸ παντὸς τοῦ σώματος, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀσθενέων ἀσθενὴς καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἰσχυρῶν ἰσχυρή· καὶ τῷ τέκνῳ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἀνάγκη ἀποδίδοσθαι.
And in the seed itself, it goes out from both the woman and the man from the whole body, weak [seed] from the weak parts and strong [seed] from the strong parts; and it is necessary for this to be transmitted to the child.
Καὶ ὁκόθεν ἂν τοῦ σώματος τοῦ ἀνδρὸς πλέον ἔλθῃ ἐς τὴν γονὴν ἢ τῆς γυναικὸς, κεῖνο κάλλιον ἔοικε τῷ πατρί· ὁκόθεν ἂν δὲ πλέον ἔλθῃ ἀπὸ τῆς γυναικὸς τοῦ σώματος, κεῖνο κάλλιον ἔοικε τῇ μητρί.
From whichever part of the man's body more [seed] comes into the semen than from the woman's, that part resembles the father more closely; and from whichever part more comes from the woman's body, that part resembles the mother more closely.
Ἔστι δὲ οὐκ ἀνυστὸν πάντα τῇ μητρὶ ἐοικέναι, τῷ δὲ πατρὶ μηδὲν, ἢ τὸ ἐναντίον τούτου, οὐδὲ μηδετέρῳ ἐοικέναι μηδέν· ἀλλ’ ἀμφοτέροισιν ἀνάγκη τίς ἐστιν ἐοικέναι τινὶ, εἴπερ ἄρα ἀπ’ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν σωμάτων τὸ σπέρμα χωρέει ἐς τὸ τέκνον.
And it is not possible to resemble the mother in everything and the father in nothing, or the opposite of this, nor to resemble neither in anything; but there is some necessity to resemble both in some respect, if indeed the seed goes from both bodies into the child.
Ὁκότερος δ’ ἂν πλέον ξυμβάληται ἐς τὸ ἐοικέναι καὶ ἀπὸ πλεόνων χωρίων τοῦ σώματος, κείνῳ τὰ πλείονα ἔοικε· καὶ ἔστιν ὅτε θυγάτηρ γενομένη τὰ πλείονα ἔοικε κάλλιον τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ μητρὶ, καὶ κοῦρος γενόμενος ἔστιν ὅτε κάλλιον ἔοικε τῇ μητρὶ ἢ τῷ πατρί.
Whichever of the two contributes more to the resemblance and from more parts of the body, to that one the child resembles in more respects; and sometimes a daughter, being born, resembles the father more closely in most respects than the mother, and a son, being born, sometimes resembles the mother more closely than the father.
Καὶ ταῦτά μοι καὶ τοσαῦτα ἐστὶν ἱστόρια τῷ προτέρῳ λόγῳ, ὅτι ἔνεστι καὶ ἐν τῇ γυναικὶ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀνδρὶ καὶ κουρογονίη καὶ θηλυγονίη.
And these and so many things are proofs for my previous argument, that there is both male-producing and female-producing seed both in the woman and in the man.