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from the adjacent veins it forcibly draws the fine blood; which, when it becomes vapor, becomes nourishment for the vital spirit; and when it contracts, it empties the sooty substance within it through the entire body and the invisible pores, just as the heart pushes up the smoky substance through the mouth and the nose in exhalations. 24 Concerning the generative or spermatic. And the generative faculty is also of the part that is not obedient to reason; for we emit seed involuntarily in dreams, and the desire for intercourse is natural. For we are moved to it unwillingly. But the act is admittedly up to us and psychic. For it is accomplished through the organs of impulse, and it is up to us to abstain and control the impulse. The organs of the spermatic power are, first, the veins and the arteries. For in these the seminal fluid is first produced, the blood having been changed, just as milk is in the breasts. For this humor is the nourishment of these vessels. For their generation is from seed in the beginning. Therefore, the arteries and the veins eject the blood into the seminal fluid, in order to be nourished; and the surplus of their nourishment becomes seed. For first it is carried up through a long circuit to the head; and again from the head it is carried down through two veins and two arteries. Wherefore, if one cuts the veins beside the ears and those beside the carotids, it makes the animal sterile. And these veins and arteries become the helicoid and varicose plexus beside the scrotum, where seminal fluid falls into each of the testicles, one artery and one vein, full of seed; and in these it is completely formed into seed, and through the varicose deferens after the testicles it is secreted with spirit, because it is also an artery that sends it. That it is also carried from a vein is clear from lust. For when they have intercourse for a long time and use up the spermatic and seminal humor, then by violent traction they secrete pure blood. And women have all the same parts as men, but inside and not outside. Aristotle and Democritus, then, hold that the woman's seed contributes nothing to the generation of children. For they hold that what is emitted from women is a sweat of the member rather than seed; but Galen, condemning Aristotle, says that women do produce seed and that the mixture of both seeds produces the conception; for which reason intercourse is also called a mixture; not, however, perfect seed, like that of the man, but still undigested and more watery. And being such, the woman's seed becomes nourishment for the man's. And from it a part of the chorion around the horns of the uterus is compacted, and the so-called allantois, which is a receptacle for the waste products of the embryo. In each kind of animal, the female receives the male when she is able to conceive. Therefore, those that are always able to conceive always accept intercourse, such as hens and doves and humans. But the other animals, when pregnant, avoid union; but a woman always accepts it. For hens, because they lay almost every day, accept intercourse every day; but women, as in other things they have free will, so also in intercourse after conception. For the irrational animals are not regulated by themselves but by nature, and accept measure and a determined time. 25 Another division of the powers that govern the animal They also divide the powers in the animal in another way, and they call some psychic, others natural, and others vital; psychic being those according to choice, and natural and vital being those not according to choice. And there are two psychic powers, the movement according to impulse and sensation, and of the movement according to impulse the kinds are the transitional and motive of the whole body and the vocal and respiratory, for it is in our power both to do and not to do these things. And the natural and vital are those not in our power, but which happen both willingly and unwillingly, such as the nutritive and augmentative and spermatic, being natural; and the pulsative, being vital. And the organs of the

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ἐκ τῶν παρακειμένων φλεβῶν ἕλκει τῇ βίᾳ τὸ λεπτὸν αἷμα· ὅπερ ἀναθυμιώμενον τροφὴ γίνεται τῷ ζωτικῷ πνεύματι· συστελλομένη δὲ τὸ αἰθαλῶδες τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ κενοῖ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ σώματος καὶ τῶν ἀδήλων πόρων, ὡς διὰ τοῦ στόματος καὶ τῆς ῥινὸς ἡ καρδία τὸ λιγνυῶδες ἐν ταῖς ἐκπνοαῖς ἀνωθεῖται. 24 περὶ τοῦ γεννητικοῦ ἢ σπερματικοῦ. Καὶ τὸ γεννητικὸν δὲ τοῦ μέρους ἐστὶ τοῦ μὴ κατηκόου λόγῳ· ἀβουλήτως γὰρ ἐν ταῖς ὀνειρώξεσιν προΐεμεν τὴν γονήν, καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία δὲ τῆς συνουσίας φυσική. ἄκοντες γὰρ ἐπ' αὐτὴν κινούμεθα. ἡ δὲ πρᾶξις ὁμολογουμένως ἐφ' ἡμῖν καὶ ψυχική. καὶ γὰρ διὰ τῶν καθ' ὁρμὴν ὀργάνων συντελεῖται, καὶ ἀποσχέσθαι καὶ κρατῆσαι τῆς ὁρμῆς ἐφ' ἡμῖν ἐστιν. ὄργανα δὲ τῆς σπερματικῆς δυνάμεως πρῶτον μὲν αἱ φλέβες καὶ αἱ ἀρτηρίαι. ἐν ταύταις γὰρ τὸ θορῶδες πρῶτον ὑγρὸν τίκτεται, μεταβληθέντος τοῦ αἵματος, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς τιτθοῖς τὸ γάλα. τροφὴ γὰρ τῶν ἀγγείων τούτων ἐστὶν ὁ χυμὸς οὗτος. καὶ γὰρ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐκ σπέρματος ἡ γένεσις αὐτοῖς ἐστιν. ἐκπέσσουσι μὲν οὖν αἱ ἀρτηρίαι καὶ αἱ φλέβες τὸ αἷμα εἰς τὸ θορῶδες ὑγρόν, ἵνα τρέφωνται· τὸ δὲ περιττεῦον τῆς τροφῆς αὐτῶν γίνεται γονή. ἀναφέρεται γὰρ πρῶτον μὲν διὰ περιόδου πολλῆς εἰς τὴν κεφαλήν· πάλιν δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς καταφέρεται διὰ δύο φλεβῶν καὶ δύο ἀρτηριῶν. ὅθεν ἐάν τις ἐκτέμῃ τὰς φλέβας τὰς παρὰ τὰ ὦτα καὶ τὰς παρὰ τὰς καρωτίδας ἄγονον ποιεῖ τὸ ζῷον. αὗται δὲ αἱ φλέβες καὶ ἀρτηρίαι γίνονται τὸ ἑλικοειδὲς καὶ κιρσοειδὲς πλέγμα παρὰ τὸν ὀσχεόν, ἔνθα θορῶδες ὑγρὸν ἐμπίπτει εἰς ἑκάτερον τῶν διδύμων, μία ἀρτηρία καὶ μία φλέψ, πλήρεις σπέρματος· ἐν τούτοις δὲ τελέως ἀποσπερ ματοῦται, καὶ διὰ τοῦ κιρσοειδοῦς παραστάτου τοῦ μετὰ τοὺς διδύμους ἐκκρίνεται μετὰ πνεύματος, διότι καὶ ἀρτηρία ἐστὶν ἡ πέμπουσα. ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ φλεβὸς φέρεται δῆλόν ἐστιν ἐκ τῆς λαγνείας. ὅταν γὰρ ἐπὶ πολὺ συνουσιάσωσιν καὶ καταναλώσωσι τὸν σπερματικὸν καὶ θορώδη χυμόν, τότε ὑπὸ τῆς βιαίας ὁλκῆς αἷμα καθαρὸν ἐκκρίνουσιν. καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες δὲ πάντα τὰ αὐτὰ τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἔχουσι μόρια, ἀλλ' ἔνδον καὶ οὐκ ἔξω. Ἀριστοτέλης μὲν οὖν καὶ ∆ημόκριτος οὐδὲν βούλονται συντελεῖν τὸ τῆς γυναικὸς σπέρμα πρὸς γένεσιν τέκνων. τὸ γὰρ προϊέμενον ἐκ τῶν γυναικῶν ἱδρῶτα τοῦ μορίου μᾶλλον ἢ γονὴν εἶναι βούλονται· Γαληνὸς δὲ καταγινώσκων Ἀριστοτέλους λέγει σπερμαίνειν μὲν τὰς γυναῖκας καὶ τὴν μῖξιν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν σπερμάτων ποιεῖν τὸ κύημα· διὸ καὶ τὴν συνουσίαν μίξιν λέγεσθαι· οὐ μὴν τελείαν γονήν, ὡς τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρός, ἀλλ' ἔτι ἄπεπτον καὶ ὑγροτέραν. τοιαύτη δὲ οὖσα τῆς γυναικὸς ἡ γονὴ τροφὴ γίνεται τῇ τοῦ ἀνδρός. ἐξ αὐτῆς δὲ καὶ μέρος τι τοῦ χορίου τοῦ περὶ τὰς κεραίας τῆς μήτρας συμπήγνυται, καὶ ὁ καλούμενος ἀλλαντοειδής, δοχεῖον ὢν τῶν περιττωμάτων τοῦ ἐμβρύου. καθ' ἕκαστον δὲ γένος ζῴου τότε προσίεται ἡ θήλεια τὸν ἄρρενα ὅταν δύνηται κυΐσκεσθαι. τὰ τοίνυν ἀεὶ δυνάμενα κυΐσκεσθαι ἀεὶ προσίεται τὴν συνουσίαν, ὡς ἀλεκτορίδες καὶ περιστεραὶ καὶ ἄνθρωπος. ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα κύοντα τὴν σύνοδον ἀποφεύγει· γυνὴ δὲ ἀεὶ προσδέχεται. αἱ γὰρ ἀλεκτορίδες τῷ καθ' ἑκάστην σχεδὸν ἡμέραν τίκτειν καθ' ἑκάστην προσίενται τὴν συνουσίαν· αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις τὸ αὐτεξούσιον ἔχουσιν οὕτω καὶ ἐν τῇ συνουσίᾳ τῇ μετὰ τὴν σύλληψιν. τὰ γὰρ ἄλογα τῶν ζῴων οὐκ ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως κανονίζεται, καὶ μέτρα καὶ καιρὸν ὡρισμένον δέχεται. 25 ἄλλη διαίρεσις τῶν διοι κουσῶν δυνάμεων τὸ ζῷον ∆ιαιροῦσι δὲ καὶ ἄλλως τὰς κατὰ τὸ ζῷον δυνάμεις, καὶ τὰς μὲν λέγουσι ψυχικάς, τὰς δὲ φυσικάς, τὰς δὲ ζωτικάς· ψυχικὰς μὲν τὰς κατὰ προαίρεσιν, φυσικὰς δὲ καὶ ζωτικὰς τὰς ἀπροαιρέτους. καὶ εἰσὶ ψυχικαὶ μὲν δύο, ἥ τε καθ' ὁρμὴν κίνησις καὶ ἡ αἴσθησις, τῆς δὲ καθ' ὁρμὴν κινήσεως εἴδη τό τε μεταβατικὸν καὶ κινητικὸν τοῦ σώματος παντὸς καὶ φωνητικὸν καὶ ἀναπνευστικόν, ἐν ἡμῖν γὰρ ταῦτα καὶ ποιεῖν καὶ μὴ ποιεῖν. φυσικαὶ δὲ καὶ ζωτικαὶ αἱ οὐκ ἐφ' ἡμῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑκόντων καὶ ἀκόντων γινόμεναι, ὡς ἡ θρεπτικὴ καὶ αὐξητικὴ καὶ σπερματική, φυσικαὶ οὖσαι· καὶ ἡ σφυγμική, ζωτικὴ οὖσα. τὰ δὲ ὄργανα τῶν μὲν