GENERATION OF ANIMALS, II. i. 



starting-point this principle. Whatever is formed 

 either by Nature or by human Art, say X, is formed 

 bv something which is X in actuality out of something 

 which is X potentially.'^ Now semen, and the move- 

 ment and principle ** which it contains, are such that, 

 as the movement ceases '^ each one of the parts 

 gets formed and acquires Soul. (I add " acquires 

 Soul," because there is no such thing as face, or flesh 

 either, without Soul in it ; and though they are still 

 said to be " face " and " flesh " after they are dead, 

 these terms will be names merely (" homonyms "),'* 

 just as if the things were to turn into stone or 

 wooden ones.) And the formation of the " uniform " 

 parts* and of the instrumental parts goes on simul- 

 taneously. And as in speaking of an axe or any 

 other instrument, we should not say that it was 

 made solely by fire, so we should not say this about 

 a foot or a hand (in the embryo), nor, similarly, of 

 flesh either, because this too is an instrument with 

 a function to perform. As for hardness, softness, 

 toughness, brittleness and the rest of such qualities 

 Avhich belong to the parts that have Soul in them 

 - — heat and cold may very well produce these, but 

 they certainly do not produce the logos ^ in direct 

 consequence of which one thing is flesh and another 

 bone ; this is done by the movement which derives 

 from the generating parent, who is in actuality what 

 the material out of which the offspring is formed is 

 potentially. Exactly the same happens with things 



■* See note on 726 b 24 (and 721 a 3). They have merely 

 the name in common with the living face and flesh, but not 

 the essential nature. Cf. line 34 below. 



* See Introd. § 19. Note that the non-uniform parts are 

 here called the instrumental parts. 



f See Introd. § 10. 



153 



