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of the female secretion are both greater than is necessary for one embryo,
only not so much so as to bring to birth a second, therefore women and mares
are the only animals which admit the male during gestation, the former for the
reason stated, and mares both because of the barrenness of their nature and
because their uterus is of superfluous size, too large for one but too small to
allow a second embryo to be brought to perfection by superfoetation. And the
mare is naturally inclined to sexual intercourse because she is in the same
case as the barren among women; these latter are barren because they have no
monthly discharge (which corresponds to the act of intercourse in males) and
mares have exceedingly little. And in all the vivipara the barren females are
so inclined, because they resemble the males when the semen has collected in
the testes but is not being got rid of. For the discharge of the catamenia is in
females a sort of emission of semen, they being unconcocted semen as has
been said before. Hence it is that those women also who are incontinent in
regard to such intercourse cease from their passion for it when they have
borne many children, for, the seminal secretion being then drained off, they
no longer desire this intercourse. And among birds the hens are less disposed
that way than the cocks, because the uterus of the hen-bird is up near the
hypozoma; but with the cock-birds it is the other way, for their testes are
drawn up within them, so that, if any kind of such birds has much semen
naturally, it is always in need of this intercourse. In females then it encourages
copulation to have the uterus low down, but in males to have the testes drawn
up.
It has been now stated why superfoetation is not found in some animals at
all, why it is found in others which sometimes bring the later embryos to birth
and sometimes not, and why some such animals are inclined to sexual
intercourse while others are not.
Some of those animals in which superfoetation occurs can bring the
embryos to birth even if a long time elapses between the two impregnations,
if their kind is spermatic, if their body is not of a large size, and if they bear
many young. For because they bear many their uterus is spacious, because
they are spermatic the generative discharge is copious, and because the body
is not large but the discharge is excessive and in greater measure than is
required for the nourishment wanted for the embryo, therefore they can not
only form animals but also bring them to birth later on. Further, the uterus in
such animals does not close up during gestation because there is a quantity of
the residual discharge left over. This has happened before now even in
women, for in some of them the discharge continues during all the time of
pregnancy. In women, however, this is contrary to Nature, so that the embryo
suffers, but in such animals it is according to Nature, for their body is so
formed from the beginning, as with hares. For superfoetation occurs in these
1488
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book The Complete Aristotle"
The Complete Aristotle
- Title
- The Complete Aristotle
- Author
- Aristotle
- Date
- ~322 B.C.
- Language
- English
- License
- PD
- Size
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Pages
- 2328
- Keywords
- Philosophy, Antique, Philosophie, Antike, Dialogues, Metaphysik, Metaphysics, Ideologie, Ideology, Englisch
- Categories
- Geisteswissenschaften
- International
Table of contents
- Part 1; Logic (Organon) 3
- Categories 4
- On Interpretation 34
- Prior Analytics, Book I 56
- Prior Analytics, Book II 113
- Posterior Analytics, Book I 149
- Posterior Analytics, Book II 193
- Topics, Book I 218
- Topics, Book II 221
- Topics, Book III 237
- Topics, Book IV 248
- Topics, Book V 266
- Topics, Book VI 291
- Topics, Book VII 317
- Topics, Book VIII 326
- On Sophistical Refutations 348
- Part 2; Universal Physics 396
- Physics, Book I 397
- Physics, Book II 415
- Physics, Book III 432
- Physics, Book IV 449
- Physics, Book V 481
- Physics, Book VI 496
- Physics, Book VII 519
- Physics, Book VIII 533
- On the Heavens, Book I 570
- On the Heavens, Book II 599
- On the Heavens, Book III 624
- On the Heavens, Book IV 640
- On Generation and Corruption, Book I 651
- On Generation and Corruption, Book II 685
- Meteorology, Book I 707
- Meteorology, Book II 733
- Meteorology, Book III 760
- Meteorology, Book IV 773
- Part 3; Human Physics 795
- On the Soul, Book I 796
- On the Soul, Book II 815
- On the Soul, Book III 840
- On Sense and the Sensible 861
- On Memory and Reminiscence 889
- On Sleep and Sleeplessness 899
- On Dreams 909
- On Prophesying by Dreams 918
- On Longevity and the Shortness of Life 923
- On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration 929
- Part 4; Animal Physics 952
- The History of Animals, Book I 953
- The History of Animals, Book II translated 977
- The History of Animals, Book III 1000
- The History of Animals, Book IV 1029
- The History of Animals, Book V 1056
- The History of Animals, Book VI 1094
- The History of Animals, Book VII 1135
- The History of Animals, Book VIII 1150
- The History of Animals, Book IX 1186
- On the Parts of Animals, Book I 1234
- On the Parts of Animals, Book II 1249
- On the Parts of Animals, Book III 1281
- On the Parts of Animals, Book IV 1311
- On the Motion of Animals 1351
- On the Gait of Animals 1363
- On the Generation of Animals, Book I 1381
- On the Generation of Animals, Book II 1412
- On the Generation of Animals, Book III 1444
- On the Generation of Animals, Book IV 1469
- On the Generation of Animals, Book V 1496
- Part 5; Metaphysics 1516
- Part 6; Ethics and Politics 1748
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book I 1749
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book II 1766
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book III 1779
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IV 1799
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book V 1817
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VI 1836
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VII 1851
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII 1872
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IX 1890
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book X 1907
- Politics, Book I 1925
- Politics, Book II 1943
- Politics, Book III 1970
- Politics, Book IV 1997
- Politics, Book V 2023
- Politics, Book VI 2053
- Politics, Book VII 2065
- Politics, Book VIII 2091
- The Athenian Constitution 2102
- Part 7; Aesthetic Writings 2156