Aristotle · a new plain-English translation from the original language
1| Why do the young urinate in their sleep more than older men when they get drunk? Is it because, being hot and moist, a great quantity of residue collects in them, since the body does not use up the moisture, so that it overflows? But in older men, because of their dryness, the body draws back the excess. Or is it because the young are more given to deep sleep than older men? Hence in the young, while they are deeply asleep, the urge of the urine escapes their notice as it discharges before they are roused, but not in older men — just as none of the movements from outside escape their notice any less than they do the young. This is clear: for the young themselves wet the bed most of all in their very deepest sleep. Why does oil help against the effects of drunkenness, and why does gulping it down help one's capacity to drink? Is it because it is diuretic and prepares the way for the drink? D. Problems Concerning Sexual Intercourse Why does a man having intercourse, and a man dying, roll his eyes upward, while a man sleeping lets them droop downward? Is it because the heat, going out from above, turns back to where it is rushing, whereas in sleep it is drawn together downward, so it inclines downward? And the eyes close because moisture is no longer present in them.
2| Why is it that in men who indulge in intercourse frequently, the eyes and the hips show the effect most conspicuously, the one being near and the other far off? Is it because in the act of intercourse itself these parts most conspicuously labor together with the work involved in the expulsion of the semen? So from these parts especially whatever meltable nourishment is present is squeezed out together, on account of the compression. Or is it because parts that are warmed alongside melt most readily, and the act of intercourse works by means of heat? And the parts most heated are those that are set in motion during the act. Now the eyes and the region of the seat conspicuously labor together in this. For it is not possible to emit without first drawing together the parts around the seat, nor without the eyes being cast down; for the parts around the seat, by coming together, press out the fluid, as the hand does from a bladder, while the drawing together of the eyes presses out what comes from the brain. That the eyes have great power, and that their region is significant for generation, is shown by the experience of childless and fertile women with ointments applied there, on the ground that power ought to pass through this region into the semen. Both regions happen always to be the fattest of all in every creature — the region of the rump and the eyes; because of this shared function they share in the heat, and because of this they are made thin and much is secreted along with it into the semen. For if a part is not fat, the heat does not glide through it in like manner, nor, if it is fat but does not labor together, as in the belly; but the kidneys of all parts perceive this most, on account of their nearness. And the very passage of the semen, lying alongside these regions, is conspicuously sufficient by itself to make them thin; for it takes away, it does not add, as it passes close by.
3| Why do both those who have intercourse and eunuchs who do not use intercourse alike suffer harm in their eyesight for sharpness of vision? Is it because in the one case through sexual indulgence, in the other through mutilation, the upper regions become drier than they should be, and this is most conspicuous in cases where the function is a precise one — and sight is such a function? For when the moisture is drawn down, the upper regions are dried out. Now it is clear that intercourse produces this effect; and in eunuchs the legs swell and the bowels move freely, as though the moisture were being shifted downward. Why is it that man alone, when he begins to be capable of intercourse, grows a beard, while none of the other animals that have hair does so? Is it because animals change into the opposite condition as they age? For the voice becomes deep from being high-pitched, and grows shaggy from being smooth; it is clear, then, that animals shaggy from birth would become smooth, not shaggier, as they become capable of generating seed. But this does not happen to man, because creatures that produce seed become drier and more porous, and it is from this that hair grows. This is clear from the fact that hair does not grow on scars; for scars are compact, not porous. Nor does it grow on children and women; for both of these are moist, not dry.
4| Why is going barefoot unfavorable for intercourse? Is it because the body that is about to have intercourse needs to be hot and moist within? And this condition holds more in sleep than in waking; hence emissions in sleep occur quickly and without effort, but in waking they occur only with exertion. And at the same time as the body is in this condition, the feet too are moister and warmer; a sign of this is that they are warm in people who are asleep, as being in the same condition as the parts within. But going barefoot produces the opposite effect; for it dries and chills. So whether it is impossible or merely difficult to have intercourse when the body is not hot, it must necessarily be unfavorable for the practice of intercourse. Why is man, of all animals, most weakened after having intercourse? Is it because he emits the most semen in proportion to the size of his body? And why does he emit the most? Is it because he expends the least effort on digesting his food, and is by nature the moistest and hottest of animals? Of these two facts, the one produces a large quantity of semen, the other makes the nature itself productive of semen; for semen itself is of this character, as long as it is preserved.
5| Why is it that, although intercourse comes about through heat, and fear and dying are chilling, in some men, when they come to be in these states, semen is emitted nonetheless? Is it because, when certain regions are being chilled, other regions are being warmed in addition, having both their own proper heat and receiving that of the regions being chilled? So that while it happens when regions are being chilled, it is not on account of being chilled, but rather also on account of being heated. This is clear also from sight: for in men who are afraid, the upper parts are drained of blood, while the lower parts become moist, and the bowels and bladder are loosened. So as the heat goes downward in fear, but from below upward in the case of death, it produces the emission of the semen by moistening through its heat. Why should one, when not aroused, neither have intercourse nor vomit nor sneeze nor pass wind? Is it because when we are not aroused we are in the same condition as things torn up out of the earth, from which something foreign to them is torn away besides, or is left behind having been torn off? For everything that should be pulled out entire, but is left behind stunted, will cause pain for a longer time. And if one sets something foreign in motion, this will cause pain, since it is not in its proper place; and this is what will happen to those who do any of the things mentioned while not aroused.
6| Why do men who are fasting have intercourse more quickly? Is it because the passages of the body are emptier in men who are fasting, but full in men who have eaten their fill? So when full they hinder the moisture from passing through into the semen. This is clear in the case of the bladder; for men cannot quickly have intercourse when it is full. Why is it that young men, when they first begin to have intercourse, come to hate the women with whom they have consorted, after the act? Is it because a great change takes place? For remembering the unpleasantness that follows afterward, they shun her with whom they had relations, as though she were the cause. Why do men who ride horses continually become more inclined to intercourse? Is it because through the heat and the motion they undergo the same experience as in intercourse itself? Hence too, as their age advances, these parts around the genitals become larger. So in men who continually engage in this motion, the bodies become well-channeled and prepared in advance for the act of intercourse.
7| Why is it that once people become capable of having sex, their skin gives off an odor, whereas before puberty neither men nor women smell this way? Is it because unconcocted substances always have worse flavors (either sharper, or saltier, or more bitter) and more foul-smelling odors, while concocted substances have flavors that are sweeter or less unpleasant, and odors that are more fragrant or less foul? This is clear if you observe it across the board, in both plants and animals. For once the well-concocted part is removed, what is left over is unconcocted — just as, in ash, once the sweet part has been used up, the lye is bitter, and sweat is salty. Now natural heat concocts the seed, which, small as it is, has great power, since much has been summed up into a little. So when it departs, people are as a rule more relaxed and cooled down; the result is that their bodily fluids become more unconcocted, since the pores are opened up by its excretion. So the sweat of children is saltier and more foul-smelling because of their lack of concoction; and if a person's nature happens to be such that the residue of his sweat is foul-smelling, this shows up in these people more, and especially in these places, such as the armpit, where it shows up most in everyone else as well.
8| Why is it that if an animal is born from our own seed, it is our offspring, but if it comes from some other person's, or from some part or secretion, it is not ours? For many things also come to be from seed through putrefaction. Why then is it that if the offspring is of the same kind as we are, it is ours, but if it is of another kind, it is not? Surely either everything born from us belongs to us, or nothing does. Or is the first point this — that in the one case the offspring comes to be from what is our own, while in the other it comes to be from what belongs to another, namely whatever comes from a discharge or excretion? And in general, nothing that belongs to the animal generates an animal, except the seed. What is harmful and bad belongs to nothing as its own, nor does what is foreign; for it is not the same thing for something to belong to a thing and for it to be foreign, or other, or bad, in relation to that thing. Excretions and putrefactions are not ours; they are other than, and foreign to, our nature. For not everything that occurs in the body should be reckoned as belonging to the body, since tumors too occur in it, which people cut out and expel. And in general, everything contrary to nature is foreign; and many of the things that arise along with us are contrary to nature. If, then, an animal comes to be from this alone among the things that are ours, it would rightly follow that only what comes to be from this is our offspring.
9| And if something else comes to be from the seed — for instance a worm, when it has putrefied, or something malformed in the womb, such as what are called monstrous births — these should not be called offspring. For, generally, things that come to be from what has been corrupted no longer come to be from what is ours, but from what is foreign, just as things that come from excretions do, such as what comes from dung. A sign of this is that all such things come to be from something undergoing corruption; for when there is no corruption, what naturally comes to be is of the same kind as that from which the seed is drawn — if from a horse, a horse, and if from a human being, a human being. And in fact we do not honor the seed itself, nor everything that is brought to completion in generation. For fluid comes to be, and a certain mass, and flesh. But sometimes, because the thing does not yet possess nature, but only this much of nature — that it is so disposed as to become, from itself, something such as we are — while from what has been corrupted, not even this. For these reasons, the offspring is not ours either when it comes from some other part within us, or when it comes from this seed corrupted or incompletely formed. Why is it that people are less able to have sex in water? Is it because in water nothing melts that is melted by fire — for instance lead or wax — whereas seed evidently melts by a kind of fire? For before friction heats it up, it does not melt. Fish, however, do not mate by friction.
10| Why is having sex most pleasant, and does it belong to animals from necessity or for the sake of something? Is it pleasant either because the seed departs from the whole body, as some say? Or is it rather that it does not depart from the whole body, but through such a passage into which all the channels of the veins converge? Since the pleasure is then similar to that in itching, this happens as if throughout the whole body. Now itching is pleasant as the exit of a fluid, filled with wind, that has been shut in contrary to nature; and the emission of seed is the exit of such a thing into what is in accordance with nature. It is pleasant both from necessity and for the sake of something: from necessity, because the path toward what accords with nature is pleasant, if it is perceptible; for the sake of something, so that there may be generation of animals — for it is because of the pleasure that animals are the more driven toward intercourse. Why does sexual indulgence help against certain diseases arising from phlegm? Is it because it is an outlet for residue, so that a great deal of residue is excreted along with it? And phlegm is a residue. Why do sexual acts cool and dry the belly? Do they cool it because heat is excreted in intercourse? And intercourse also dries, since as the heat goes out it evaporates, and it goes out as the body cools. Further, the heat generated in the act itself also dries.
11| Why are those whose eyelashes fall out lustful? Is it for the same reason that the bald are too? For both are parts made of the same stuff. And the cause is this: whatever hair, among those that grow together as of the same kind, fails to grow as a person gets older, all such hair suffers this in bouts of lust. For the head, the eyebrows, and the eyelashes are hairs of the same kindred growth. Of these, only the eyebrows in some people grow thicker as they get older (the reason for this has been stated elsewhere), while the other two fall out together for the same reason. The cause is that lust cools the upper parts, which have little blood, so that the region fails to concoct its nourishment; and receiving no nourishment, the hairs fall out. Why can those who need to urinate not have sex? Is it because their passages become full? And what is full of one fluid does not admit another. Why do mistletoe-berries prevent those who have them from begetting offspring, both in humans and in whichever other animals have them? Is it because mistletoe comes to be when wind shifts course within the tree? That is also why it helps against melancholic conditions. And the sexual act, too, involves the emission of wind. If, then, the impulse finds its path already made by the presence of mistletoe, the seed is not driven forward, but is instead cooled; so it withers the tension of the genitals.
12| Why do those who have sex grow slack and generally weaker? Is it because the seed is a discharge drawn from every part, so that, just as the joints hold together a building, so too the composition of the body is shaken by something having departed from it — as it would be if blood, either all of it or some other part, went out? So critical is what goes out, and it is little, made from much nourishment, as starch is made from a great deal of dough. Why do those having sex, and those needing to urinate, become erect? Is it because, as the passages fill with fluid, the seed, working its way out through a narrower space, creates a greater mass and lifts it up? For the genital organ lies upon these passages. Why does the tension and enlargement of the genitals occur? Is it for two reasons — both because weight comes to bear behind the testicles and is thereby lifted (for the testicles act as a fulcrum), and because the passages fill with wind? Or is it that, as the fluid increases and shifts, or as bulk arises from fluid, the mass becomes greater? Very large ones are raised less, because the weight lies farther from the fulcrum.
13| Why do those who have intercourse, or people of that sort, smell bad, while children do not? They also smell of what is called rankness. Is it because, as has been said, breath in children concocts the moisture and the sweats, while in men's it is unconcocted? Why in summer are men less able to have intercourse, while women are more able, just as the poet says of the artichoke season: "then women are most lustful, but men are feeblest"? Is it because the testicles descend more than in winter? And it is necessary, if a man is to have intercourse, that they be drawn up. Or is it because hot natures collapse in summer when the heat is excessive, while cold natures are warmed? Now a man is dry and hot, a woman cold and moist. So the man's power is dimmed, while the woman's flourishes, being equalized by its opposite.
14| Why do some people enjoy having intercourse, and some at the very moment of acting, others not? Is it because for each residue there is a place into which it is naturally suited to be secreted, and when exertion arises, the breath going out causes swelling and secretes the residue along with it — just as urine goes to the bladder, digested-out nourishment to the belly, tears to the eyes, mucus to the nostrils, blood to the veins? Likewise, then, seed goes to the testicles and the genitals. In those whose passages are not in their natural condition — either because the ducts leading to the genitals have become blocked, as happens to eunuchs and to women who are similarly incapacitated, or for some other reason — such moisture flows together into the seat, for it passes out that way too. A sign of this is that during intercourse this region contracts and the parts around the seat liquefy. So if someone is excessive in lust, in these people the residue collects there, so that whenever the desire arises, what he desires is the friction at the place where it collects. And the desire arises both from food and from thought. For whenever it is set in motion by anything whatever, the breath rushes together to that place, and this sort of residue flows together to where it is naturally disposed to go.
15| And if it is thin or breath-like, once this has gone out — just as with the convulsions that occur in children and in those of a mature age, which sometimes stop with no moisture at all being excreted — they stop. But when the moisture has been quenched... and if neither of these things happens to him, he goes on desiring until one of them occurs. Those who are by nature effeminate are so constituted that at that place either nothing, or only a little, is secreted — where it is secreted in those constituted according to nature — but instead it goes to this other place. The cause is that they are constituted contrary to nature: being male, they are so disposed that this part of them is necessarily disabled. Now disablement either produces total destruction or produces distortion. The former is not the case here, for then the person would have become a woman. So it must be that the seminal secretion has been diverted and set moving toward some other place. That is also why such men are insatiable, like women: for the moisture is scanty, and it does not force its way out, and it cools quickly. And those in whom it collects at the seat desire to be acted upon in that region; those in whom it goes to both places desire both to act and to be acted upon; and whichever region gets the greater share, that is the one they desire more. In some people this condition also arises from habit. For whatever acts they perform, it results for them that they take pleasure and emit seed in that way.
16| So they desire to do whatever produces this result for them, and habit becomes, as it were, a second nature all the more. That is why those who are habituated to intercourse not before puberty but around the time of puberty — because for them the memory becomes associated with the use, and along with the memory the pleasure, and because of habit they desire, as if by nature, to be acted upon — for most of them, habit comes to function just as if they were so by nature. And if the person happens to be lustful and soft besides, each of these things comes about the more quickly. Why are those who desire intercourse most ashamed to admit it, but not to admit wanting to drink or eat or anything else of that kind? Is it because for most such things the desires are necessary, and some even destroy those who fail to get what they want, whereas the desire for sexual matters comes from surplus? Why are men more inclined toward intercourse in winter, and women in summer? Is it because men are by nature more hot and dry, while women are moist and chilled? For men, then, the moisture and heat present in winter are sufficient for the impulse (for the generation of seed comes from these), while for women the heat is less, and the moisture is congealed because of the deficiency of fire; and this happens in summer. For women, then, the heat is in due proportion, but for men it is more than sufficient — for too much of it weakens the capacity. That is also why children are thinner in summer: for it amounts to bringing fire upon fire.
17| Why is it that men who are hot by nature, if they are strong and well-nourished, often find bile rising and something bitter descending and their phlegm becoming salty, and their complexion changing, if they do not have intercourse? Is it because residue always departs together with the seed? That is also why in some breath-filled fish the seed smells like washing-water. So when they have intercourse, this residue departs along with it, so that it causes no distress; but for those who do not engage in intercourse, the residue turns bitter or becomes salty. Why are melancholic people inclined toward intercourse? Is it because they are full of breath, and seed is an emission of breath? Those, then, who have a great deal of this kind of thing must often desire to purge themselves, for they are relieved by it. Why are both birds and hairy men lustful? Is it because they have much moisture? Or is that not so (for the female is moist but not hairy), but rather because both natures are able, through heat, to concoct much moisture? A sign of this is the hair and the feathers. Or is it that the moisture is abundant and is mastered by the heat? For neither hair nor feathers would grow out unless the moisture were abundant, nor unless it were mastered. And seed comes to be in the greatest quantity in such places and seasons — for instance in spring, since its nature is moist and hot. For the same reason both birds and lame men are lustful: for both, the nourishment going downward is little, because of the incapacity of the legs, and it travels instead to the upper region and is combined into seed.