ON CONCEPTION. 581 



intercourse, and which remains in the woman (without the actual 

 presence of the semen) as the efficient of the future offspring 

 if, I say, this contagion (whether it be atoms, odorous par- 

 ticles, fermentation, or anything else) is not of the nature of any 

 corporeal substance, it follows of necessity that it is incorporeal. 

 And if on further inquiry it should appear that it is neither spirit 

 nor demon, nor soul, nor any part of the soul, nor anything 

 having a soul, as I believe can be proved by various arguments 

 and experiments, what remains, since I am unable myself to 

 conjecture anything besides, nor has any one imagined aught 

 else even in his dreams, but to confess myself at a stand-still ? 

 " For whoever," says Aristotle, 1 " doubts and wonders, con- 

 fesses his ignorance; therefore if to escape the imputation of 

 ignorance, ingenious men have turned to philosophy, it is clear 

 they follow their pursuit for the sake of knowledge, and not 

 from any other motive." 



It must not, then, be imputed to me for blame, if, eager for 

 knowledge, and approaching untrodden ground, I have pre- 

 sented aught which at first sight may appear made up or fabu- 

 lous. For as everything is not to be received at once with an 

 unthinking credulity, so that which has been long and pain- 

 fully considered must not be straightway rejected, even although 

 it fail to catch the eye of the quick-sighted. Aristotle him- 

 self wrote a book, ' De Mirabilibus auditis/ on hearsay won- 

 ders ; and elsewhere he says, 3 " We must not only thank those 

 in whose opinions we acquiesce, but those also who have said 

 aught (to the purpose) although superficially. For these bring in 

 something to the common stock, in this, that they exercise and 

 train our habits. For if Timotheus had not existed, we should 

 have lost much music. Yet if Phrynis had not been we should 

 have had no Timotheus. So is it with those who have laid down 

 any truth. For we have received some opinions from certain 

 philosophers, yet were there others to whom these owed their 

 existence." 



Influenced, then, by the example and authority of so great 

 a man, and not to appear resolute only to subvert the doc- 

 trines of others, I have preferred proposing a fanciful opinion 

 rather than none at all, playing in this the part of Phrynis to 



1 Metapliys. lib. i, cap. 2. 2 Ibid. lib. ii, cap. 1. 



