715 b 



ARISTOTLE 



20 eCTTt TO drjXv /cat to appev, dAA' ^'Sry Kad^ o/jlolo- 

 rrjTa /cat /car' avaAoytar Aeyerai- fxiKpav yap 

 Ttva roiavT7]v e;)^ei ht,a<^opdv. /cat yap iv rocs 

 (bvTOLS VTTap-^et, to. pikv Kap7Toc/)6pa Sevbpa rov 

 avTOV ylvovs, ra 8' ayra p,€V ov (f)€p€L Kapirov, 

 cru/x^aAAerat Se rots' (j^epovat rrpog to tt€tt€lv, olov 



25 avfi^aivet, Trepl ttjv avKrjv /cat tov ipiveov. 



^["EcTTt Se /cat €771 TOJV cf)VTa)V TOV aVTOV TpOTTOV 



Ta pi€v yap e/c OTTepp-aTO? ytVerat, to. 8' cjaTrep 

 avTopLaTLt^ovcrq? Tr\g <j)voeo)£- ytVerat yap r) t'^s" 

 yij? ar]TrofJLev7]s 7] jjiopiojv rtvcDv ev Tot? (f)VToZs' 

 ei'ta ydp awra /xet' oy avvioTaTai Ka9* avTO. p^ajpt?/ 

 30 ev €Tepois 8' eyytVerat 8eV8peatv, otop' o i^o?.] 



^ quae sequuntur w. 25-30 plane hue aliunde tralata, hie 

 enim iamdudum de plantis sermo. transferenda censeo ad 

 715 a 35 post ■nepiTTMfidrcjv. 



^ Xapi'S eV y^s ZS. 



" The concoction referred to here is that which produces 

 the ripening of fruit. See Introd. § 62. The use of the 

 same word neTTeiv both for the fruit of plants and for the 

 semen of animals is appropriate, in that both, according to 

 Aristotle, are produced out of "nourishment" by a process 

 of "concoction." 



" See 755 b 10, and H.J. 557 b 31. The fig tree com- 

 monly cultivated in S. Europe is Ficus carica. This species 

 includes two kinds of individual trees : (1) those whose in- 

 florescences contain fully-developed female flowers only ; 

 (2) those whose inflorescences contain male flowers near 

 the opening, and lower down aborted female flowers known 

 as " gall-flowers " owing to their being specially prepared 

 to receive the eggs of the fig-wasp {Blastophaga grossorum), 

 which turns the ovary of the flower into a " gall." The 

 latter trees are known as Caprificus. The female wasps, 

 after impregnation by the male wasps within the gall, 

 emerge from it and get dusted with pollen from the male 

 8 



