Aristotle on Semen
Dec. 11th, 2007 10:12 pmYup. The Weirdness of the Ancients has struck again. And I'm so behind that I should not be letting myself get distracted, but really, when Aristotle goes on for a page and a half on semen, what else can I do???
My double take started with this...
"Further in time of cold and frost, oil thickens but does not freeze. Its failure to freeze is due to its heat - because the air is hot and impervious to frost. But it thickens because the air is coagulated and compressed by the cold. These reasons explain the behaviour of semen as well."
- Obviously. That was my first thought.
"Ktesias of Knidos is obviously mistaken in his statement about the semen of elephants: he says that it gets so hard when it solidifies that it becomes like amber. It does not."
- Sooooo, have you actually, um, checked on this personally? And, on a side note, I notice this is my second quote about elephants. I appear to have an obsession forming.
"It is, of course, true that one semen must of necessity be earthier than another, and the earthiest will be in those animals which, for their bodily bulk, contain a large amount of earthy matter..."
- Of course you're not fat, honey. You just contain a large amount of earthy matter.
"What is more, it is white in all cases. Herodotus is incorrect when he says that the semen of Ethiopians is black, as though everything about a person with black skin were bound to be black - and this too in spite of their teeth being white, as he could see for himself."
- Okay, this just makes me smile because his tone is so... exasperated. Duh, Herodotus. Are you a moron??
"We have now given the reason which solves the puzzle that was stated. And this also shows, incidentally, why semen does not freeze: it is because air is impervious to frost."
- Um, what? Again, does he know this from personal experience? I think this warrants a study. Sir, could you just step into this meat locker and, um, give us a sample?
(All quotes taken from Aristotle's Generation of Animals, 735b-736a)
My double take started with this...
"Further in time of cold and frost, oil thickens but does not freeze. Its failure to freeze is due to its heat - because the air is hot and impervious to frost. But it thickens because the air is coagulated and compressed by the cold. These reasons explain the behaviour of semen as well."
- Obviously. That was my first thought.
"Ktesias of Knidos is obviously mistaken in his statement about the semen of elephants: he says that it gets so hard when it solidifies that it becomes like amber. It does not."
- Sooooo, have you actually, um, checked on this personally? And, on a side note, I notice this is my second quote about elephants. I appear to have an obsession forming.
"It is, of course, true that one semen must of necessity be earthier than another, and the earthiest will be in those animals which, for their bodily bulk, contain a large amount of earthy matter..."
- Of course you're not fat, honey. You just contain a large amount of earthy matter.
"What is more, it is white in all cases. Herodotus is incorrect when he says that the semen of Ethiopians is black, as though everything about a person with black skin were bound to be black - and this too in spite of their teeth being white, as he could see for himself."
- Okay, this just makes me smile because his tone is so... exasperated. Duh, Herodotus. Are you a moron??
"We have now given the reason which solves the puzzle that was stated. And this also shows, incidentally, why semen does not freeze: it is because air is impervious to frost."
- Um, what? Again, does he know this from personal experience? I think this warrants a study. Sir, could you just step into this meat locker and, um, give us a sample?
(All quotes taken from Aristotle's Generation of Animals, 735b-736a)