The Works of Aristotle the Famous Philosopher Part 25

_Of the Ears._

Q. Why do beasts move their ears, and not men? A. Because there is a certain muscle near the under jaw which doth cause motion in the ear; and therefore, that muscle being extended and stretched, men do not move their ears, as it hath been seen in divers men; but all beasts do use that muscle or fleshy sinew, and therefore do move their ears.

Q. Why is rain prognosticated by the p.r.i.c.king up of a.s.ses' ears? A.

Because the a.s.s is of a melancholic const.i.tution, and the approach of rain produceth that effect on such a const.i.tution. In the time of rain all beasts p.r.i.c.k up their ears, but the a.s.s before it comes.

Q. Why have some animals no ears? A. Nature giveth unto everything that which is fit for it, but if she had given birds ears, their flying would have been hindered by them. Likewise fish want ears, because they would hinder their swimming, and have only certain little holes through which they hear.

Q. Why have bats ears, although of the bird kind? A. Because they are partly birds in nature, in that they fly, by reason whereof they have wings; and partly they are hairy and seem to be of the nature of mice, therefore nature hath given them ears.

Q. Why have men only round ears? A. Because the shape of the whole and of the parts should be proportionable, and especially in all things of one nature; for as a drop of water is round, so the whole water: and so, because a man's head is round, the ears incline towards the same figure; but the heads of beasts are somewhat long, and so the ears are drawn into length likewise.

Q. Why hath nature given all living creatures ears? A. 1. Because with them they should hear. 2. Because by the ear choleric superfluity is purged; for as the head is purged of phlegmatic superfluity by the nose, so from choleric, by the ears.

_Of the Mouth._

Q. Why hath the mouth lips to compa.s.s it? A. Because the lips cover and defend the teeth; for it would be unseemly if the teeth were always seen. Also, the teeth being of a cold nature, would be soon hurt if they were not covered with lips.

Q. Why has a man two eyes and but one mouth? A. Because a man should speak but little, and hear and see much. And by hearing and the light we see difference of things.

Q. Why hath a man a mouth? A. 1. Because the mouth is the gate and door of the stomach. 2. Because the meat is chewed in the mouth, and prepared and made ready for the first digestion. 3. Because the air drawn into the hollow of the mouth for the refres.h.i.+ng of the heart, is made pure and subtle.

Q. Why are the lips moveable? A. For the purpose of forming the voice and words which cannot be perfectly done without them. For as without _a, b, c_, there is no writing, so without the lips no voice can well be formed.

Q. What causes men to yawn or gape? A. It proceeds from the thick fume and vapours that fill the jaws; by the expulsion of which is caused the stretching out and expansion of the jaws, and opening of the mouth.

Q. Why doth a man gape when he seeth another do the same? A. It proceeds from the imagination. And this is proved by the similitude of the a.s.s, who by reason of his melancholy, doth retain his superfluity for a long time, and would neither eat nor p.i.s.s unless he should hear another doing the like.

_Of the Teeth._

Q. Why do the teeth only, amongst all ether bones, experience the sense of feeling? A. That they may discern heat and cold, that hurt them, which other bones need not.

Q. Why have men more teeth than women? A. By reason of the abundance of heat and cold which is more in men than in women.

Q. Why do the teeth grow to the end of our life, and not the other bones? A. Because otherwise they would be consumed with chewing and grinding.

Q. Why do the teeth only come again when they fall, or be taken out, and other bones being taken away, grow no more? A. Because other bones are engendered of the humidity which is called radical, and so they breed in the womb of the mother, but the teeth are engendered of nutritive humidity, which is renewed and increased from day to day.

Q. Why do the fore-teeth fall in youth, and grow again, and not the cheek teeth? A. From the defect of matter, and from the figure; because the fore-teeth are sharp, and the others broad. Also, it is the office of the fore-teeth to cut the meat, and therefore they are sharp; and the office of the others to chew the meat, and therefore they are broad in fas.h.i.+on, which is fittest for that purpose.

Q. Why do the fore-teeth grow soonest? A. Because we want them sooner in cutting than the others in chewing.

Q. Why do the teeth grow black in human creatures in their old age? A.

It is occasioned by the corruption of the meat, and the corruption of phlegm with a choleric humour.

Q. Why are colts' teeth yellow, and of the colour of saffron, when they are young, and become white when they grow up? A. Because horses have abundance of watery humours in them, which in their youth are digested and converted into grossness; but in old age heat diminishes, and the watery humours remain, whose proper colour is white.

Q. Why did nature give living creatures teeth? A. To some to fight with, and for defence of their lives, as unto wolves and bears, unto some to eat with, as unto horses, unto some for the forming of the voices, as unto men.

Q. Why do horned beasts want their upper teeth? A. Horns and teeth are caused by the same matter, that is, nutrimental humidity, and therefore the matter which pa.s.seth into the horns turneth not into teeth, consequently they want the upper teeth. And such beasts cannot chew well; therefore, to supply the want of teeth, they have two stomachs, from whence it returns and they chew it again, then it goes into the other to be digested.

Q. Why are some creatures brought forth with teeth, as kids and lambs; and some without, as men? A. Nature doth not want in necessary things, nor abound in things superfluous; and therefore, because these beasts, not long after they are fallen, do need teeth, they are fallen with teeth; but men, being nourished by their mother, for a long time do not stand in need of teeth.

_Of the Tongue._

Q. Why is the tongue full of pores? A. Because the tongue is the means whereby which we taste; and through the mouth, in the pores of the tongue, doth proceed the sense of tasting. Again, it is observed, that frothy spittle is sent into the mouth by the tongue from the lungs, moistening the meat and making it ready for digestion.

Q. Why do the tongues of such as are sick of agues judge all things bitter? A. Because the stomachs of such persons are filled with choleric humours; and choler is very bitter, as appeareth by the gall; therefore this bitter fume doth infect their tongues; and so the tongue, being full of these tastes, doth judge everything bitter.

Q. Why doth the tongue water when we hear sour and sharp things spoken of? A. Because the imaginative virtue or power is of greater force than the power or faculty of tasting; and when we imagine a taste, we conceive the power of tasting as a swan; there is nothing felt by the taste, but by means of the spittle the tongue doth water.

Q. Why do some persons stammer and lisp? A. Sometimes through the moistness of the tongue and brain, as in children, who cannot speak plainly nor p.r.o.nounce many letters. Sometimes it happeneth by reason of the shrinking of certain sinews which go to the tongue, which are corrupted with phlegm.

Q. Why are the tongues of serpents and mad dogs venomous? A. Because of the malignity and tumosity of the venomous humour which predominates in them.

Q. Why is a dog's tongue good for medicine, and a horse's tongue pestiferous? A. By reason of some secret property, or that the tongue of a dog is full of pores, and so doth draw and take away the viscosity of the wound. It is observed that a dog hath some humour in his tongue, with which, by licking he doth heal; but the contrary effect is the lick of a horse's tongue.

Q. Why is spittle white? A. By reason of the continual moving of the tongue, whereof heat is engendered, which doth make this superfluity white; as seen in the froth of water.

Q. Why is spittle unsavoury and without taste? A. If it had a certain determinate taste, then the tongue would not taste at all, but only have the taste of spittle, and could not distinguish others.

Q. Why doth the spittle of one that is fasting heal an imposthume? A.

Because it is well digested and made subtle.

Q. Why do some abound in spittle more than others? A. This doth proceed of a phlegmatic complexion, which doth predominate in them; and such are liable to a quotidian ague, which ariseth from the predominance of phlegm; the contrary in those that spit little, because heat abounds in them, which consumes the humidity of the spittle; and so the defect of spittle is a sign of fever.

Q. Why is the spittle of a man that is fasting more subtle than of one that is full? A. Because the spittle is without the viscosity of meat, which is wont to make the spittle of one who is full, gross and thick.

Q. From whence proceeds the spittle of a man? A. From the froth of the lungs, which according to the physicians, is the seat of the phlegm.

Q. Why are beasts when going together for generation very full of froth and foam? A. Because then the lights and heart are in greater motion of l.u.s.t; therefore there is engendered in them much frothy matter.

Q. Why have not birds spittle? A. Because they have very dry lungs.

Q. Why doth the tongue sometimes lose the use of speaking? A. It is occasioned by a palsy or apoplexy, which is a sudden effusion of blood, and by gross humours; and sometimes also by infection of _spiritus animates_ in the middle cell of the brain which hinders the spirits from being carried to the tongue.

_Of the Roof of the Mouth._

Q. Why are fruits, before they are ripe, of a bitter and sour relish, and afterward sweet? A. A sour relish or taste proceeds from coldness and want of heat in gross and thick humidity; but a sweet taste is produced by sufficient heat; therefore in the ripe fruit humidity is subtle through the heat of the sun, and such fruit is commonly sweet; but before it is ripe, as humidity is gross or subtle for want of heat, the fruit is bitter or sour.

Q. Why are we better delighted with sweet tastes than with bitter or any other? A. Because a sweet thing is hot and moist, and through its heat dissolves and consumes superfluous humidities, and by this humidity immundicity is washed away; but a sharp, eager taste, by reason of the cold which predominates in it, doth bind overmuch, and p.r.i.c.k and offend the parts of the body in purging, and therefore we do not delight in that taste.