Etymologies & Works 11

I. ON MAN AND HIS PARTS. 'Natura' (nature) is so called from the fact that it makes something be born ('nasci'); for it has the power of begetting and of making. Some have said that this is God, by whom all things were created and exist. 'Genus' (kind, birth) is named from begetting ('gignere'), a name derived from the earth ('terra'), from which all things are begotten; for in Greek earth is called ge. 'Vita' (life) is so called on account of vigor ('vigor'), or because it holds the power ('vis') of being born and of growing; hence trees too are said to have life, because they are begotten and grow. 'Homo' (man) is so called because he was made from the soil ('humus'), as it is said in Genesis (2:7): 'And God created man from the dust of the earth.' But by a loose usage the whole man is spoken of as consisting of both substances, that is, of the union of soul and body; for properly 'homo' is from 'humus'.

The Greeks, moreover, called man anthropos, because, lifted up from the ground, he looks upward to the contemplation of his Maker. This the poet Ovid designates when he says (Metamorphoses 1.84): 'And whereas the other animals look prone upon the earth, he gave to man an upraised countenance and bade him behold the heavens and lift his upturned face to the stars.' Man, therefore, gazes upright at heaven so that he may seek God, not that he may fix his eyes upon the earth like the cattle, which nature has fashioned prone and obedient to the belly. Man, moreover, is twofold: inner and outer. The inner man is the soul, the outer man the body. The soul ('anima') received its name from the pagans, because it is wind ('ventus'); hence too in Greek wind is called anemos, because, drawing air with the mouth, we seem to live.

But this is most manifestly false, because the soul is begotten long before air can be drawn in through the mouth, since it already lives in the mother's womb. The soul is therefore not air, as certain men supposed who could not conceive of its incorporeal nature. That the spirit is the same as the soul the Evangelist declares, saying (John 10:18): 'I have power to lay down my soul, and again I have power to take it up.' Concerning this same soul of the Lord, at the time of His Passion, the same Evangelist spoke thus, saying (John 19:30): 'And bowing His head, He gave up the spirit.' For what is it to give up the spirit but to lay down the soul? But it is called 'anima' (soul) because it lives ('vivit'); and 'spiritus' (spirit) either on account of its spiritual nature, or because it breathes ('inspiret') within the body.

Likewise, 'animus' (mind) is the same as 'anima' (soul); but the soul belongs to life, the mind to counsel. Hence the philosophers say that life remains even without mind ('animus'), and that the soul endures even without intellect ('mens'), whence come the 'amentes' (the demented). For the intellect is so called that it may know; the mind ('animus') that it may will. And 'mens' (mind, intellect) is so named because it stands out ('emineat') in the soul, or because it remembers ('meminit'); whence the forgetful ('inmemores') are called demented ('amentes'). Therefore it is not the soul, but that which excels in the soul, that is called mind, as it were its head or its eye. Hence man himself, according to his mind, is called the image of God. Now all these are so joined to the soul that they are one thing; for the soul has obtained diverse names according to the effects of its operations. For memory too is mind, whence the forgetful are demented. While, then, it gives life to the body, it is 'anima' (soul); while it wills, it is 'animus' (mind).

while it knows, it is 'mens' (intellect); while it recollects, it is 'memoria' (memory); while it judges rightly, it is 'ratio' (reason); while it breathes, it is 'spiritus' (spirit); while it perceives something, it is 'sensus' (sense). For hence the mind is called 'sensus' on account of the things it perceives ('sentit'), whence 'sententia' (opinion) too received its name. 'Corpus' (body) is so called because, being corrupted ('corruptum'), it perishes; for it is dissoluble and mortal, and must at some time be dissolved. 'Caro' (flesh) is named from creating ('creare'); for 'crementum' is the seed of the male, from which the bodies of animals and men are conceived; hence too parents are called 'creators'. Now flesh is compacted from the four elements; for earth is in the flesh, air in the breath, water in the blood, fire in the vital heat. For the elements have each their own part in us, and when the frame is dissolved, what is owed to each returns to it.

'Caro' (flesh) and 'corpus' (body), however, signify different things. In flesh there is always body, but not always flesh in body. For flesh is that which is alive, which is also body; the body which is not alive is not flesh. For a 'body' is spoken of either as what is dead after life, or as what is formed without life. Sometimes too there is body together with life, and yet not flesh, as with grass and wood. The senses of the body are five: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Of these, two are opened and closed, two are always open. They are called 'sensus' (senses) because through them the soul stirs the whole body most subtly with the power of perceiving ('sentiendi'). Hence too they are called 'praesentia' (things present), because they are 'prae sensibus' (before the senses); just as what is 'prae oculis' is close before the eyes. 'Visus' (sight) is that which by the philosophers is called the glassy humor.

Some assert that sight is produced either by the external ethereal light, or by an inner luminous spirit coming through fine channels from the brain, and, once the coverings are pierced, passing out into the air, and then, by mingling with like material, giving sight. 'Visus' (sight) is so called because it is livelier than the other senses and more excellent, or swifter, and flourishes more amply, as memory does among the other functions of the mind. For it is nearer the brain, whence all things flow; whence it comes about that, of things which pertain to the other senses, we say 'see': as when we say 'See how it sounds,' 'See how it tastes,' and so with the rest. 'Auditus' (hearing) is so named because it draws in ('auriat') voices; that is, when the air is struck, it takes up sounds. 'Odoratus' (smell) is, as it were, the contact of the air with an odor; for it is perceived when the air is touched.

So too 'olfactus' (the sense of smell), because it is affected by odors. 'Gustus' (taste) is named from the throat ('guttur'). 'Tactus' (touch), because it handles ('pertractet') and touches ('tangat') and spreads the vigor of sensation through all the members; for by touch we test whatever we cannot judge by the other senses. There are two kinds of touch: for either what strikes comes from without, or it arises within, in the body itself. To each sense, moreover, its own proper nature has been given; for what is to be seen is grasped by the eyes, what is to be heard by the ears; soft and hard things are appraised by touch, savor by taste, odor is drawn in by the nostrils. The first part of the body is the head ('caput'); and this name was given to it because all the senses and nerves take their beginning ('initium capiant') from it, and from it arises every cause of vigor; for there all the senses appear.

Whence, in a manner, it bears the person of the very soul, which takes counsel for the body. The 'vertex' (crown) is that part where the hairs of the head are gathered together, and on which the head of hair turns ('vertitur'); whence it is named. 'Calvaria' (skull) is so called from the bare ('calvis') bones, by a lack, and it is pronounced in the neuter gender. 'Occiput' is the back part of the head, as it were 'contra capitium' (opposite the front of the head), or because it is behind the head. 'Capilli' (hairs) are named as it were 'capitis pili' (hairs of the head), made both to lend adornment and to fortify the brain against cold and defend it from the sun. 'Pili' (hairs) are named from the skin ('pellis') from which they come forth; just as a 'pilo' (pestle) is named from the 'pila' (mortar), where pigment is pounded. 'Caesaries' (a head of hair) is named from cutting ('caedere'), and therefore belongs only to men; for it befits a man to be shorn, but does not befit a woman.

'Comae' (locks) are properly hairs that have not been cut, and the word is Greek; for the Greeks call locks komai, from cutting, whence they also say keirein (to shear). Hence too they are called 'cirri' (curls), which these same Greeks call mallos. 'Crines' (tresses) belong properly to women; and they are called 'crines' because they are parted by fillets ('vittae'). Hence too the 'discriminalia' (parting-pins) are named, by which the divided tresses are bound back. 'Tempora' (temples) are the parts that lie below the skull to right and left. They are so named because they move, and by their very mobility change, as it were, at certain intervals like the seasons ('tempora'). 'Facies' (face) is named from likeness ('effigies'); for there is the whole figure of the man and the recognition of each person. But 'vultus' (countenance) is so called because through it the will ('voluntas') of the mind is shown.

For according to the will it is changed into various movements, whence the two differ from each other. For 'facies' is taken simply of the natural aspect of each person; but 'vultus' signifies the disposition of the mind. 'Frons' (forehead) is named from the openings ('foramina') of the eyes. This is a certain image of the mind, which expresses by its appearance the movement of the intellect, when it is either glad or sad. 'Oculi' (eyes) are so called either because the coverings of the eyelids conceal ('occulant') them, lest they be hurt by the impact of any incoming injury, or because they have a hidden ('occultum') light, that is, one secret or placed within. These, among all the senses, are nearest to the soul. For in the eyes is every sign of the mind, whence the mind's disturbance or cheerfulness appears in the eyes. 'Oculi', moreover, are the same as 'lumina' (lights).

And they are called 'lumina' (lights) because light ('lumen') flows from them, or because from their very beginning they hold an enclosed light, or, having received it from without, they pour it back by presenting it to the sight. The 'pupilla' (pupil) is the middle point of the eye, in which the power of seeing resides; and because there small images ('parvae imagines') appear to us, they are therefore called 'pupillae'; for little children are called 'pupilli'. Many call this the 'pupula'; but it is called 'pupilla' because it is pure and undefiled, as girls ('puellae') are. The natural philosophers say that those about to die within three days do not have those same pupils which we see in the eyes, and when these are not seen, despair is certain. But the circle by which the white parts of the eye are separated from the pupil by a distinct blackness is called the 'corona' (crown), because by its roundness it adorns the circuit of the pupil.

'Palpebrae' (eyelids) are the folds of the eyes, so called from 'palpitatio' (fluttering), because they are always moving; for they run together in turn, so that by constant motion they refresh the gaze. They are fortified with a rampart of hairs, so that, when the eyes are open, if anything falls in it may be repelled, and when they close in sleep, the eyes may rest hidden as though wrapped up. At the very edges of the eyelids, at the places where each meets the other when closed, there stand, in an ordered row, hairs grown there to render protection to the eyes, lest they easily take in rushing injuries and be harmed thereby: to ward off the contact of dust or any coarser matter, or by cutting through the very air to soften it, that they may make the sight fine and clear. Some think that 'lacrimae' (tears) are so called from the 'laceratio' (rending) of the mind;

others think it is because the Greeks call them dakrua. 'Cilia' (eyelashes) are the coverings by which the eyes are covered, and they are called 'cilia' because they conceal ('celent') the eyes and cover them with a safe guardianship. 'Supercilia' (eyebrows) are so called because they are placed above the eyelashes ('super cilia'); and they are clothed with hairs for this reason, that they may stretch out defenses before the eyes and drive off the sweat that flows down from the head. The 'intercilium' is that middle space between the eyebrows which is without hairs. 'Genae' (cheeks) are the lower parts of the eyes, where the beard begins; for in Greek 'beard' [is genys]. Hence too 'genae', because the beards begin to be born ('gigni') there. 'Malae' (cheekbones) are the parts jutting out beneath the eyes, placed there for their protection.

They are called 'malae' either because they project below the eyes into a roundness, which the Greeks call myle, or because they are above the jaws ('maxillae'). 'Maxillae' (jaws) are so called by diminution from 'malae'; just as 'paxillus' (small peg) from 'palus' (stake), 'taxillus' (small die) from 'talus' (knucklebone). 'Mandibulae' (mandibles) are the parts of the jaws, from which the name too is made. The ancients called it 'barba' (beard) because it belongs to men ('viri'), not to women. To the ears ('aures') the name was given from drawing in ('auriendis') voices, whence Virgil (Aeneid 4.359): 'And the voice with these ears...' Or because the Greeks call the voice itself aude, from hearing; for by a change of letter the ears ('aures') are named as it were 'audes'. For the voice, echoed back through their windings, makes the sound by which they take in the sense of hearing. The 'pinnula' (tip) is the topmost part of the ear, named from its point ('acumen').

For the ancients used to call anything sharp 'pinnum', whence too 'bipennis' (double-axe) and 'penna' (feather, point). The 'nares' (nostrils) are so named because through them either odor or breath does not cease to flow ('nare'), or because they warn us by odor to know ('norimus') and be aware of something. Hence, on the contrary, those who are ignorant and untaught are called 'nescii' (unknowing); for the ancients used to say 'to have smelt' for 'to have known'. Terence (Adelphoe 397): 'And would they not have smelt it out fully six months before he began anything?' The straight part of the nostrils, because it is stretched out equally in length and roundness, is called the 'columna' (column); its extremity is the 'pirula', from the shape of the pear-fruit ('pirum'); the parts to right and left are the 'pinnulae' (little wings), from their likeness to wings; and the middle is the 'interfinium' (partition).

'Os' (mouth) is so called because through it, as through a door ('ostium'), we both send food within and cast out spittle without; or because through it food enters and speech comes forth. 'Labia' (lips) are named from licking ('lambere'). The part that is above we call 'labium'; the lower part, because it is thicker, 'labrum'. Others say that men have 'labra', women 'labia'. Varro thinks the name 'lingua' (tongue) was imposed from binding ('ligare') food; others, because it binds words together by articulate sounds. For just as the plectrum strikes the strings, so the tongue is struck against the teeth and produces a vocal sound. The Greeks call teeth odontes, and from this the name seems to be drawn into Latin. Of these, the first are called 'praecisores' (incisors), because whatever is taken in, they first cut it ('incidunt').

The next are called 'canini' (canines), of which two are in the right jaw and two in the left. They are called 'canini' because they exist after the likeness of a dog's ('canis'), and a dog breaks bones with these, as a man does; so that what the front teeth cannot cut through, they hand over to these to break up. The common people call these 'colomelli' (little columns) on account of their length and roundness. Last are the 'molares' (molars), which grind down and crush and knead into a mass what has been cut and broken by the front teeth; whence they are called 'molares' (millstone-teeth). The quality of the sex distinguishes the number of the teeth; for in men there are more, in women fewer. The 'gingivae' (gums) are named from the begetting ('gignere') of teeth. They were made also for the beauty of the teeth, lest, being bare, they should stand as an object of horror rather than of adornment.

Our 'palatum' (palate) is set like the sky ('caelum'), and hence 'palatum' from 'polus' (the pole of heaven) by derivation. And the Greeks likewise call the palate ouranos, because by its concavity it has a likeness of the sky. The 'fauces' (throat) are named from the pouring-forth ('fundere') of voices, or because through them we utter ('famur') voices. The 'arteriae' (windpipe) are so called, either because through them air, that is, breath, is carried from the lung, or because by their narrow and cramped passages they retain the vital breath, whence they send forth the sounds of the voice: which sounds would all sound in one way, were it not that the movement of the tongue produces the distinctions of the voice. The 'toles' (tonsils) are so called in the Gallic tongue, which the common people call by diminution 'tusillae' (little tonsils), which are wont to swell in the throat. The 'mentum' (chin) is so called because the jaws take their origin ('oriantur') there, or because they are joined ('iungantur') there.

'Gurgulio' (windpipe/gullet) draws its name from the throat ('guttur'), whose passage extends to the mouth and nostrils, having a way by which the voice is transmitted to the tongue, that it may be able to strike words together; whence too we say 'garrire' (to chatter). The 'rumen' (gullet) is next to the windpipe, by which food and drink are swallowed down. Hence beasts which bring back their food and chew it again are said to 'ruminate'. The 'sublinguium' (epiglottis) is the little lid of the windpipe, as it were a little tongue which uncovers or covers the opening of the windpipe. The 'collum' (neck) is so called because it is rigid and rounded like a column ('columna'), bearing the head and supporting it as if it were a capitol: of which the front part is called the 'gula' (gullet), the back part the 'cervix'. And 'cervix' is so named because through that part the brain ('cerebrum') is directed to the marrow of the spine, as it were the way of the brain ('cerebri via'). The ancients, moreover, used to say 'cervices' only in the plural number;

Hortensius was the first to say 'cervix' in the singular. And 'cervix' in the singular number signifies the member itself; but in the plural it often denotes stubbornness ('contumacia'). Cicero in the Verrines (5.110): 'Would you accuse the praetor? Break their necks ('cervices').' The 'umeri' (shoulders) are so called as it were 'armi', to distinguish man from the dumb beasts, so that these are said to have shoulders ('umeri'), those forelegs ('armi'); for 'armi' belong properly to quadrupeds. The 'ola' is the hinder part of the top of the shoulder. The 'bracchia' (arms) are named from strength; for baru in Greek signifies heavy and strong. For in the arms are the muscles of the sinews ('lacerti'), and there exists the notable strength of the muscles. These are the 'tori', that is, the muscles; and they are called 'tori' because there the flesh seems to be twisted ('torta'). The 'cubitum' (elbow) is so called because on it we recline ('cubamus') to take our food.

The 'ulna', according to some, is the span of both hands extended; according to others, the forearm ('cubitus'); which is the truer, because in Greek the forearm is called olene. The 'alae' (armpits) are called 'subbrachia' (under-arms), because from them the movement of the arms begins after the manner of wings ('alae'); some call them 'ascillae', because from these the arms are 'celluntur', that is, moved; whence too 'oscilla' are named from the fact that by these the faces ('ora') are 'cillantur', that is, moved. For 'cillere' is to move. Some call these 'subhirci', because in very many men they give off the stench of he-goats ('hirci'). The 'manus' (hand) is so called because it is the service ('munus') of the whole body; for it ministers food to the mouth; it performs and manages all things; through it we receive and give.

By a loose usage 'manus' also means skill or a craftsman, whence too we say 'manupretium' (workmanship, wages of labor). The 'dextra' (right hand) is named from giving ('dare'), for it is given as a pledge of peace; it is employed as a witness of good faith and of well-being; and this is that saying in Tully (Catiline 3.8): 'By order of the senate I gave the public pledge,' that is, my right hand. Hence too the Apostle (Galatians 2:9): 'They gave me their right hands.' The 'sinistra' (left hand) is so called as it were 'sine dextra' (without a right hand), or because it lets ('sinat') a thing be done; for from 'sinere' (to allow) the left is named 'sinistra'. The 'palma' is the hand with the fingers spread, just as the 'pugnus' (fist) is the hand with them drawn in. And 'pugnus' is named from 'pugillus' (handful), just as 'palma' is named from the spread branches of the palm-tree ('palmae rami'). The 'digiti' (fingers) are so named either because they are ten ('decem'), or because they are seemly ('decenter') joined; for they have in them both a perfect number and a most seemly order.

The first is called 'pollex' (thumb), because among the rest it is strong ('polleat') in strength and power. The second is the 'index', and the 'salutaris' or 'demonstratorius' (the greeting- or pointing-finger), because with it we generally greet or point. The third is the 'impudicus' (obscene finger), because through it very often the reproach of insult is expressed. The fourth is the 'anularis' (ring-finger), because upon it the ring ('anulus') is worn; the same is also the 'medicinalis' (medicinal finger), because with it ground eye-salves are gathered up by physicians. The fifth is the 'auricularis' (little finger, ear-finger), because with it we scratch the ear ('auris'). We call the 'ungulae' (nails) from the Greek; for they call these onychas. The 'truncus' (trunk) is the middle part of the body, from the neck to the groin. Concerning which Nigidius (fragment 108):

'The head is carried by the neck, the trunk is supported by the hips and knees and legs.' The 'thorax' is what the Greeks call the front part of the trunk from the neck to the stomach, which we call the 'arca' (chest, coffer), because there is the 'arcanum', that is, the secret, by which the rest are shut off ('arcentur'); whence too 'arca' (chest) and 'ara' (altar) are so named, as being secret things. Its projecting fleshy parts are the 'mamillae' (breasts); between which that bony part is called the 'pectus' (breast, chest), and to right and left the 'costae' (ribs). The 'pectus' is so named because it is combed ('pexum') between the projecting parts of the breasts; whence too the 'pecten' (comb) is so called, because it makes the hairs combed ('pexos'). The 'mamillae' are so named because they are round like apples ('malae'), by diminution, of course. The 'papillae' (nipples) are the tips of the breasts, which sucklings grasp.

And they are called 'papillae' because infants, as it were, 'pap' at them ('pappant') while they suck milk. Accordingly, the 'mamilla' is every prominence of the breast, but the 'papilla' is that short part from which the milk is drawn. The 'ubera' (udders, teats) are so called either because they are laden ('uberta') with milk, or because they are moist ('uvida'), being full, that is, with the humor of milk after the manner of grapes ('uvae'). 'Lac' (milk) draws the force of its name from its color, because it is a white liquid; for the Greeks call white leukos; and its nature is changed from blood. For after childbirth, if any blood has not yet been consumed in the nourishment of the womb, it flows by a natural passage into the breasts, and, whitening by their virtue, takes on the quality of milk. The 'cutis' (skin) is that which is outermost on the body, so called because it, being placed over the body, first suffers incision ('incisio'); for kytis in Greek means incision.

The same is also 'pellis' (hide), because by covering it drives off ('pellat') the external injuries of the body, and endures rains and winds and the burning heat of the sun. But the hide, as soon as it is drawn off and dressed, is now called 'corium' (leather). And 'corium' by derivation was named from 'caro' (flesh), because the flesh is covered ('tegatur') by it; but this is proper to brute animals. The pores ('pori') of the body are called by a Greek name, which in Latin are properly called 'spiramenta' (breathing-holes), because through them the life-giving breath is ministered outward. 'Arvina' is the fat clinging to the skin. 'Pulpa' is flesh without fat, so called because it quivers ('palpitet'); for it often springs back ('resilit'). Many also call this 'viscus' (birdlime, flesh), because it is glutinous. 'Membra' (limbs) are the parts of the body. The 'artus' (joints), by which the limbs are bound together, are so called from binding tight ('artare').

The 'nervi' (sinews) are named by a Greek derivation, which they call neura. Others think they were called 'nervi' in Latin because the junctures of the joints ('artus') cleave to one another by them. That the sinews make up the greatest substance of one's strength is most certain; for the denser they are, the more abundantly do they cause firmness to increase. The 'artus' (joints) are so called because, bound together in turn by the sinews, they are drawn tight ('artentur'), that is, constrained; of which the diminutives are 'articuli' (small joints). For we call the greater members 'artus', such as the arms; the smaller members 'articuli', such as the fingers. The 'conpago' (joining) are the heads of the bones, so called because, joined tight ('conpacta') to one another, they cleave together by the sinews as if by a kind of glue. The 'ossa' (bones) are the solid supports of the body; for in them rests every position and strength.

The 'ossa' (bones), moreover, are named from 'ustum' (that which is burnt), because they used to be cremated by the ancients; or, as others think, from 'os' (mouth), because there they lie open ('pateant'); for everywhere else they are covered and hidden by skin and flesh. The 'medulla' (marrow) is so named because it moistens ('madefaciant') the bones; for it irrigates and strengthens them. The 'vertibula' (vertebrae) are the topmost parts of the bones, gathered into a ball by thicker knots, so named because at the bending of the members they turn ('vertantur'). The 'cartilagines' (cartilages) are soft bones without marrow, of which kind are the ears, the partition of the nostrils, and the extremities of the ribs; or they are the lids of the bones, which move. And they are called 'cartilagines' because with a gentle rubbing ('leni attritu') they lack ('carent') pain while they are bent. Some think the 'costae' (ribs) are so called because by them the inner parts are guarded ('custodiantur'), and all the softness of the belly is walled about and kept safe.

'Latus' (side) is so called because, when we lie down, it lies hidden ('latet'); for it is the left part of the body. But to the right side belongs the more nimble movement; to the left, a stronger one, and one better suited to bearing a burden. Hence too the left is called 'laeva', because it is more fit for lifting ('levandum') something and carrying it; for it bears the shield, the sword, the quiver, and the rest of the burdens, so that the right may be free ('expedita') for action. The 'dorsum' (back) extends from the neck to the loins. And it is called 'dorsum' because it is a harder surface of the body, after the manner of a rock, strong both for carrying and for enduring. The 'terga' (back), because on it we lie supine on the ground ('terra'), which man alone can do; for the dumb animals lie only either on the belly or on the side. Hence too in animals 'terga' are spoken of by a loose usage.

The 'scapulae' (shoulder-blades)... The 'interscapilium' is the space that is between the shoulder-blades, whence too it is named. The 'palae' are the members projecting to the right and left of the back, so called because we press ('premimus') them in wrestling, which the Greeks call palen. The 'spina' (spine) is the joining of the back, so called because it has sharp little points ('radioli'); the joints of it are called 'spondilia' (vertebrae), on account of that part of the brain which is carried through them in a long course to the other parts of the body. The 'sacra spina' (sacrum) is the bottom of the continuous spine, which the Greeks call hieron ostoun (the sacred bone), since it is born first when the infant is conceived, and therefore this part was first given by the pagans to their gods from a victim, whence too it is called the 'sacred spine'. Varro says the 'renes' (kidneys) are so called because from them arise the streams ('rivi') of obscene humor.

For the veins and the marrow sweat out a thin liquid in the kidneys, which liquid again, released from the kidneys by the heat of Venus, runs down. The 'lumbi' (loins) are so called on account of the wantonness of lust ('libido'), because in men the cause of bodily pleasure is in them, just as in women it is in the navel. Hence too it was said to Job at the beginning of the discourse (38:3): 'Gird up your loins like a man'; that in these there might be a readiness to resist, in which the accustomed occasion of lust for domination lies. The 'umbilicus' (navel) is the middle place of the body, so called because it is the 'umbus' (boss) of the flanks ('ilia'). Hence too the boss ('umbo') is the name of the place in the middle of a shield, from which it hangs. For from it the infant hangs in the womb, from it also it is nourished. The 'ilium' is named by a Greek word, because there we wrap ourselves around ('obvolvamur').

For in Greek 'to wrap around' is called [eilein]. The 'clunes' (buttocks) are so called because they are near the 'colum', which is the large intestine ('longao'). The 'nates' (buttocks) are so called because upon them we prop ourselves ('innitimur') while we sit. Hence too the flesh is heaped up in them, lest the bones should ache under the weight of the pressing body. The 'genitalia' (genitals) are the parts of the body which, as the very name teaches, received their designation from the offspring to be begotten ('gignenda soboles'), because by these it is procreated and begotten. These are also called 'pudenda' (shameful parts) for modesty's sake, or from 'pubes' (the pubic region); whence too they are covered with a garment. But these are also called 'inhonesta' (unseemly), because they do not have that appearance of comeliness which the members have that are placed in open view. The same is also the 'veretrum', because it belongs only to a man ('vir'), or because from it is emitted the virus; for 'virus' is properly the term for the humor flowing from a man's nature.

The 'testiculi' (testicles) are so called by diminution from 'testes', of which the number begins at two. These minister the seed to the 'calamus' (reed, i.e., the male member), which seed both the kidneys and the loins take up from the marrow of the spine for the favor of procreating. The 'fiscus' (scrotum) is the skin in which the testicles are. The 'posteriora' (hinder parts) are so called because they are behind ('retro') and turned away from the face, lest, while we purge the belly, we should defile the sight. The passage ('meatus') is so named because through it pass ('meant'), that is, are cast out, the excrements. The 'femora' (thighs) are so called because in that part the male sex differs from the female ('femina'). They are from the groin to the knees. But the 'femina' (thigh-parts) are, by derivation from 'femora', the parts by which, in riding, we cling to the backs of horses; whence too warriors of old were said to have lost their horses from between their thighs. The 'coxae' (hips) are, as it were, 'coniunctae axes' (joined axles).

for by these the thighs are moved. The hollows of these are called vertebrae (vertebra), because in them the heads of the thigh-bones turn (vertuntur). The hams (suffragines) are so called because they break beneath (subtus franguntur), that is, they bend below and not above, as happens in the arms. The knees (genua) are the joinings of the thighs and the legs; and they are called knees because in the womb they are set opposite the cheeks (genis). For there they cleave to one another, and they are akin to the eyes, the signs of tears and of mercy. For the knees (genua) are named from the cheeks (genae). Indeed, a human being is begotten and formed folded up, so that the knees are aloft, by which the eyes are shaped, that they may become hollow and set deep within. Ennius says: 'And the pressed-in cheek presses the knees together.' Hence it is that when people prostrate themselves to their knees, they at once weep.

For nature willed that they should recall the mother's womb, where they had sat as if in darkness before they came forth into the light. The legs (crura) are so called because with them we run (currimus) and take our steps. They extend from below the knees down to the calves. The shin-bones (tibiae) are named as though 'pipes' (tubae). For they are similar both in length and in appearance. The ankle (talus) is named from tolus. For a tolus is a projecting roundness: whence also the pinnacle of a round temple is called a tolus. The ankle (talus) lies below the leg, and the heels below the ankle. The feet (pedes) have obtained their name from a Greek etymology. For the Greeks call them PODES, since by alternating movements, planted upon the ground, they advance.

The soles (plantae) are named from their flatness (planities), because they are not rounded, as in four-footed beasts, lest a two-footed man should be unable to stand, but are made flat and rather long, so as to render the body stable. Now the soles are the forward parts, which also consist of many bones. The heel (calx) is the first part of the sole: its name is imposed from the callus with which we tread (calcamus) the earth; hence also the heel-bone (calcaneus). The bottom (solum) is the lower part of the foot, so called because with it we imprint our footsteps upon the earth. But 'solum' is also said of everything that supports something, as being solid (solidum): whence also the earth is called 'solum,' because it supports all things; and the sole of the foot, because it carries the whole mass of the body. We call 'viscera' not only the intestines, but whatever is beneath the skin, from 'viscus,' which is that which lies between the skin and the flesh.

Likewise the vital 'viscera,' that is, the regions surrounding the heart, as though 'viscora,' because there life, that is the soul, is contained. Likewise the 'viscera' are the heads of the sinews, joined together out of blood and sinews. Likewise the muscles (lacerti), or 'mice' (mures), because they are in the several limbs in the place of the heart, just as the heart is in the middle part of the whole body; and they are named from creatures that lie hidden beneath the earth. For thence the muscles (musculi) are so called from their likeness to mice (mures); the same are also called 'tori,' because there the viscera appear twisted (torta). The heart (cor) is derived from a Greek term, for they call it KARDIA, or else from 'care' (cura). For in it abide all anxiety and the source of knowledge. It is therefore near the lungs, so that when it is kindled with anger, it may be tempered by the moisture of the lungs.

It has two arteries, of which the left has more blood, the right more breath (spiritus): whence it is in the right arm that we examine the pulse. The praecordia are the regions near the heart by which sensation is perceived; and they are called praecordia because there is the origin (principium) of the heart and of thought. The pulse (pulsus) is so named because it throbs (palpitet); by its indication we understand either sickness or health. Its motion is twofold: either simple or composite. Simple, which consists of a single beat; composite, which arises from several movements, disordered and unequal. These movements have fixed intervals: a dactylic beat, so long as they are without fault; but whenever they are more rapid, as the DORKADIZONTES ('gazelle-like'), or more languid, as the MYRMIZONTES ('ant-like'), they are signs of death.

The veins (venae) are so called because they are the ways (viae) of the flowing blood, and as it were streams distributed throughout the whole body, by which all the limbs are irrigated. Blood (sanguis) has drawn its name from a Greek etymology, because it is quickened, sustained, and lives. Now it is 'sanguis' while it is in the body, but when poured out it is called 'cruor' (gore). For 'cruor' is named from the fact that, poured out, it runs down, or from the fact that in running it collapses (corruat). Others interpret 'cruor' as corrupted blood that is expelled. Others say that 'sanguis' is so called because it is sweet (suavis). But the blood is not whole except in the young. For the natural philosophers say that the blood is diminished with age; whence too there is trembling in the old. Properly, however, the blood is the possession of the soul: hence women are wont to tear their cheeks in mourning;

hence too purple garments and purple flowers are offered to the dead. The lung (pulmo) draws its name from the Greek. For the Greeks call the lung PLEUMON, because it is the fan of the heart, in which is the PNEUMA, that is, the breath, through which the lungs are both stirred and moved; whence too they are called 'pulmones.' For in Greek PNEUMA means 'breath,' which by blowing and stirring the air gives it forth and takes it back; by this the lungs are moved and throb, and by opening themselves that they may take in the breath, and by contracting, that they may expel it. For it is an instrument (organum) of the body. The liver (iecur) has its name because fire (ignis) has its seat there, which flies up into the brain.

Thence it is diffused to the eyes and the other senses and the limbs, and by its heat it turns the juice drawn from food into blood, which it supplies to the several limbs for the purpose of feeding and nourishing. In the liver, moreover, reside pleasure and desire, according to those who dispute concerning natural things. The lobes (fibrae) of the liver are its extremities, like the outermost parts of the leaves in endives, or like tongues jutting out. They are called 'fibrae' because among the pagans they were carried by soothsayers in the sacred rites to the altars of Phoebus, and when these had been offered and burned, they received responses. The spleen (splen) is so called from being a supplement, on the opposite side from the liver, lest that part should be empty: and some suppose it to have been made for the sake of laughter.

For with the spleen we laugh, with the gall we grow angry, with the heart we understand, with the liver we love. And when these four elements are in due proportion, the living creature is sound. The gall-bladder (fel) is so named because it is a little sac (folliculus) carrying the humour which is called bile (bilis). The stomach (stomachus) is called in Greek 'mouth' (os), because it is the doorway (ostium) of the belly, and it itself receives the food and passes it on into the intestines. The intestines (intestina) are so called because they are contained in the inner (interior) part of the body; and for this reason they are arranged in the manner of coils with long windings, so that they may gradually digest the food they have taken in, and not be hindered by food added on top of it. The omentum (omentum) is the membrane that holds the greater part of the intestines, which the Greeks call EPIPLOON. The midriff (disseptum) is the partition-membrane which separates the belly and the other intestines from the lungs and from the heart.

The blind gut (caecum intestinum) is that which is without opening or outlet; the Greeks call it TYPHLON ENTERON. The 'ieiunum' is the thin intestine, whence too fasting (ieiunium) is named. Now the belly (venter), the paunch (alvus), and the womb (uterus) differ among themselves. The belly is that which digests the food it has received, and it appears on the outside, and reaches from the breast to the groin, and is called 'venter' because it transmits the sustenance of life (vita) throughout the whole body. The paunch (alvus) is that which receives the food and is wont to be purged. Sallust says: 'Pretending that his bowel was being purged.' And it is called 'alvus' because it is washed out (abluatur), that is, purged: for from it the filth of the excrement flows down. The womb (uterus) only women have, in which they conceive, after the likeness of a little cabbage-stalk.

Nevertheless authors for the most part use 'uterus' for the belly of either sex, and not only the poets but the rest as well. Now it is called 'uterus' because it is double and divides itself from either side into two parts, which, spread out in opposite directions and folded back, are coiled around after the manner of a ram's horn; or because it is filled within with the foetus. Hence too the word 'uter' (wineskin), because it holds something within, that is, limbs and viscera. But the 'aqualiculus' belongs properly to the pig; hence the transference to the belly. It is called 'matrix' because the foetus is generated in it: for it warms the seed once received, embodies it once warmed, and once embodied distinguishes it into limbs. The 'vulva' is so called as though 'valva,' that is, the door (ianua) of the belly, either because it receives the seed, or because from it the foetus proceeds.

The bladder (vesica) is so called because, just as a vessel is filled with water, so it is filled with the urine collected from the kidneys, and is distended with the fluid. Its use is not found in birds. Urine (urina) is so called either because it burns (urat), or because it is discharged from the kidneys (renes). By its indication both future health and future sickness are shown. This fluid is commonly called 'lotium,' because by it garments are washed (lota), that is, made clean. Seed (semen) is that which, once cast, is taken up either by the earth or by the womb for the begetting of either fruits or offspring.

For it is a fluid produced by the digestion of food and body and diffused through the veins and marrow, which, sweated out from there, thickens in the kidneys after the manner of bilge-water, and, expelled through coitus and received in the woman's womb, is by a certain warmth of the viscera and by the irrigation of the menstrual blood formed into a body. The menses (menstrua) are the superfluous blood of women. And they are called 'menstrua' from the cycle of the moon's light, by which this flow is wont to come; for the moon is called MENE in Greek. These are also named 'muliebria' (the woman's things); for woman alone is a menstruating animal. By the contact of this gore crops do not germinate, new wines turn sour, plants die, trees lose their fruit, iron is seized by rust, and bronze grows black.

If any dogs have eaten of it, they are driven to madness. The glue of asphalt (bitumen), which is dissolved neither by iron nor by water, being polluted by this gore, disperses of its own accord. Now after very many days the menstrual seed is not fertile, because there is no longer menstrual blood by which, when it has flowed over it, it might be irrigated. Thin seed does not adhere to the female parts; for it slips away and has no power of clinging. Likewise thick seed has no power of generating, because it cannot mingle itself with the female blood on account of its excessive density. Hence too males or females become sterile, either through excessive thickness of the seed or blood, or through excessive thinness. Now they say that the heart of a human being is fashioned first, because in it are both all life and wisdom;

then on the fortieth day the whole work is completed; which has been gathered, as they report, from miscarriages. Others say that the foetus takes its beginning from the head. Whence too in the foetuses of birds we see that the eyes are shaped first in the eggs. Now the foetus (foetus) is so named because it is still fostered (foveatur) in the womb. Its afterbirth (secundae) is called the little sac (folliculus), which is born together with the infant and contains it; and it is so called because it follows even when the child is brought forth. Now they say that children are born like their fathers if the paternal seed is stronger; like their mothers, if the mother's is stronger; and by this reasoning likenesses of countenance are produced. But those who reproduce the figure of both parents are conceived when the paternal and maternal seed are mixed equally.

They become like their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, because just as in the earth many seeds are hidden, so also in us seeds are concealed that will reproduce the features of our ancestors. From the paternal seed girls are born and from the maternal, boys, because every birth consists of a double seed, of which the greater part, when it has prevailed, takes possession of the likeness of its sex. In our body certain things have been made only for the sake of usefulness, such as the viscera; certain things both for usefulness and for beauty, such as the senses in the face, and the hands and feet in the body: of which limbs both the usefulness is great and the appearance most seemly. Certain things only for beauty, such as the nipples in men, and in either sex the navel. Certain things for distinction, such as in men the genitals, the flowing beard, the broad chest;

in women, smooth cheeks and a narrow chest; and, for the conceiving and carrying of offspring, broadened loins and flanks. As regards man and the parts of the body, enough has been said in part; now I shall append his ages. II. ON THE AGES OF MAN. The stages of age are six: infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, maturity (gravitas), and old age. The first age is infancy, of the child being born into the light, which is extended over seven years. The second age is childhood (pueritia), that is, pure and not yet apt for begetting, reaching up to the fourteenth year. The third is adolescence, grown up for begetting, which extends up to twenty-eight years. The fourth is youth (iuventus), the most robust of all the ages, ending in the fiftieth year.

The fifth age is that of the older man, that is, maturity (gravitas), which is the decline from youth into old age; not yet old age, but already no longer youth, because it is the age of an older man, whom the Greeks call PRESBYTES. For among the Greeks an old man is called not 'presbyter' but GERON. This age, beginning at the fiftieth year, is bounded at the seventieth. The sixth age is old age (senectus), which is limited by no span of years; but after those five ages, whatever there is of life is reckoned to old age. Now 'senium' is the last portion of old age, so called because it is the end (terminus) of the sixth age. In these six spans, therefore, the philosophers have described human life, in which it is changed and runs its course and arrives at the boundary of death.

Let us therefore pass briefly through the aforesaid stages of the ages, demonstrating their etymologies in man. A man of the first age is called an infant (infans); and he is called 'infans' because he does not yet know how to speak (fari), that is, he cannot talk. For while the teeth are not yet well ordered, there is less expression of speech. A boy (puer) is named from purity (puritas), because he is pure and does not yet have the down and bloom of the cheeks. These are the ephebi, that is, named from Phoebus, not yet grown men, but smooth young lads. But 'puer' is said in three ways: with respect to birth, as Isaiah says: 'A child is born to us.' With respect to age, as an eight-year-old, a ten-year-old. Whence is that verse: 'Already he bore the childish yoke on his tender neck.' With respect to submission and purity of faith, as the Lord says to the prophet:

'You are my child, do not fear,' although Jeremiah had by then far exceeded the years of childhood. A girl (puella) is a little one, as though a 'pulla' (young thing). Whence too we call them 'pupilli' (orphans) not by reason of their condition but by reason of childish age. Now orphans (pupilli) are so called as though 'in the eyes' (in oculis), that is, bereaved of their parents. But those are truly called 'pupilli' whose fathers passed away before they received a name from them. The rest bereaved are called 'orphani,' the same as 'pupilli'; for the former is a Greek word, the latter Latin. For in the Psalm, where it is read, 'You will be a helper to the orphan (pupillus),' the Greek has ORPHANO. The 'puberes' are named from the pubes, that is, from the shameful part of the body (pudenda), because these places then first grow the down.

But some reckon puberty from the years, that is, that he is a 'puber' who has completed fourteen years, even though he grow the down very late: yet it is most certain that he is a 'puber' who both shows puberty by the condition of his body and is already able to generate. 'Puerperae' are those who give birth in their childish years. Whence too Horace says: 'The mother in childbed is praised first for her offspring.' And they are called 'puerperae' either because they are burdened by their first childbirth, or because they first bring forth children. The 'adolescens' is so called because he is grown up (adultus) for begetting, or from growing and increasing. A 'iuvenis' (young man) is so named because he begins to be able to help (iuvare); as among cattle the young bullocks (iuvenci), when they have departed from being calves. For a 'iuvenis' is one set in the very increase of age, and prepared to give aid.

For to help (iuvare) is the task of a man who contributes some work. But just as the thirtieth year is that of perfect age in human beings, so in cattle and beasts of burden the third year is the most robust. A man is called 'vir' because there is greater strength (vis) in him than in women: whence also 'virtue' (virtus) has received its name; or because he acts upon woman by force (vis). Woman, however, is named from softness (mollities), as though 'mollier' (softer), with a letter removed or changed, is called 'mulier.' For each is distinguished by the strength and the weakness of their bodies. But therefore the strength of a man is greatest, that of a woman lesser, so that she might be submissive to the man; namely, lest, women resisting, lust should compel men to seek something else or to rush upon the other sex. 'Woman' (mulier), therefore, is said with respect to the female sex, not with respect to any corruption of her integrity:

and this is from the language of Sacred Scripture. For Eve, immediately after she was made from the side of her husband, not yet touched by a man, was called 'woman' (mulier), as Scripture says: 'And he formed her into a woman.' A virgin (virgo) is named from a greener (viridior) age, just as a shoot (virga) is, and just as a heifer (vitula) is. Otherwise, from incorruption, as though 'virago,' because she knows not the female passion. A 'virago' is so called because she does the man's part (virum agit), that is, she does virile deeds and is of masculine vigour. For the ancients used thus to call strong women. But a virgin is not rightly called a 'virago,' unless she performs the office of a man. Yet a woman, if she does virile deeds, is rightly called a 'virago,' as an Amazon. But she who is now 'femina' was in ancient times called 'vira'; just as from 'servus' (male slave) comes 'serva' (female slave), and from 'famulus' (manservant) 'famula' (maidservant), so from 'vir' (man) 'vira.'

Hence too some think comes the name of 'virgo.' But 'femina' is named from the parts of the thighs (femora), where the character of the sex is distinguished from that of the man. Others think that 'femina' is named by a Greek etymology from fiery force (ignea vis), because she desires vehemently. For females are more given to lust than males, both in women and in animals. Whence excessive love was among the ancients called 'feminine' (femineus). A 'senior' (older man) is still somewhat greener. In the sixth book Ovid says: 'The elder, between the young man and the old.' Terence says: 'By what right have I acted as the somewhat younger man (adulescentior).' 'Adulescentior' means not more of an adolescent, but less; just as 'senior' means less than an old man, where the comparative degree signifies less than the positive.

Therefore 'senior' is not fully so, just as 'iunior' (younger) lies between youth, as 'pauperior' (poorer) lies between the rich man and the poor. Now some think that old men (senes) are so called from the diminution of sense (sensus), because through old age they have already become foolish. For the natural philosophers say that men of colder blood are foolish, those of warmer blood prudent: whence too old men, in whom it is already cold, and boys, in whom it is not yet warm, are less wise. Hence it is that the age of infants and of old men suits itself: for old men through excessive age grow delirious; boys through wantonness and infancy do not know what they are doing. Now 'senex' is only of the masculine gender, just as 'anus' (old woman) is of the feminine; for 'anus' is said only of a woman. But 'anus' is named from many years (anni), as though 'annosa' (aged). For if it were a common noun, why would Terence say

'an old woman' (senem mulierem)? Hence too 'vetula' (little old woman), because she is aged (vetusta). But just as from 'senex' comes 'senectus' (old age), so from 'anus' 'anilitas' (old-womanhood) is named. Now grey hair (canities) is named from whiteness (candor), as though 'candities.' Whence is that phrase: 'flowering youth, milk-white grey hair,' as though he might say 'candid.' But old age brings with it many things both good and bad. Good, because it frees us from the most tyrannical masters, sets a limit to pleasures, breaks the onset of lust, increases wisdom, gives more mature counsels. But bad, because old age (senium) is most wretched with weakness and hatred. For, as Virgil says, 'diseases and sad old age steal upon us.' For there are two things by which the strengths of the body are diminished: old age and disease.

Death (mors) is so called because it is bitter (amara), or from Mars, who is the causer of deaths [or 'mors' from the bite (morsus) of the first man, because, biting the apple of the forbidden tree, he incurred death]. Now there are three kinds of death: untimely (acerba), premature (immatura), and natural. The untimely is that of infants, the premature that of young men, the deserved—that is, the natural—that of old men. But it is uncertain from what part of speech the word 'mortuus' (dead) is declined. For, as Caesar says, from 'morior' (I die) it ought to have ended in 'tus' in the past participle, namely with a single U, not with two. For where the letter U is doubled, it is a noun, not a participle, as 'fatuus' (foolish), 'arduus' (steep). And so it fittingly came about that, just as that which it signifies cannot act, so also the name itself cannot be declined in speech.

Now every dead person is either a 'funus' (funeral) or a 'cadaver' (corpse). It is a 'funus' if it is buried. And 'funus' is named from the kindled cords (funes) which they used to carry before the bier, wrapped with waxed papyrus. But it is a 'cadaver' if it lies unburied. For 'cadaver' is named from falling (cadere), because it can no longer stand. While it is carried, we call it 'exsequiae' (funeral procession); when burned, 'reliquiae' (remains); when laid away, it is now 'sepultum' (buried). But it is called 'corpus' (body) by custom, as in that verse: 'Then the bodies of those lacking light.' A person is called 'defunctus' (deceased) because he has completed the office of life. For we say that those have 'discharged' an office (functos officio) who have completed the duties they owed; whence too one who has 'discharged' honours (honoribus functus). Hence, then, 'defunctus,' because he has been laid down from the office of life, or because he has 'discharged his day' (diem functus).

Now one is called 'sepultus' (buried) because he is now without pulse (pulsus) and throbbing, that is, without motion. And to bury (sepelire) is to put away the body. For we say 'humare' (to inter) is to cover over, that is, to cast earth (humus) upon it. III. ON PORTENTS. Varro says that portents are those things which seem to be born contrary to nature: but they are not contrary to nature, because they come to pass by the divine will, since the will of the Creator is the nature of each created thing. Whence too the pagans themselves call God now Nature, now God. A portent, therefore, comes about not contrary to nature, but contrary to nature as it is known. Now portents (portenta) and ostents (ostenta), monsters (monstra) and prodigies (prodigia) are so named because they seem to portend (portendere) and to show (ostendere), to demonstrate (monstrare) and to declare (praedicare) certain things to come.

For they hold that 'portenta' are so called from portending (portendere), that is, from foreshowing (praeostendere). But 'ostenta,' because they seem to show (ostendere) something to come. 'Prodigia,' because they speak forth (porro dicere), that is, foretell future things. But 'monstra' are named from warning (monitus), because by signifying something they demonstrate (demonstrare), or because they at once show (monstrare) what appears; and this is the proper meaning, though for the most part it is corrupted by the loose usage of writers. Now certain creations of portents seem to be appointed for the signifying of future things. For God sometimes wills to signify things to come through certain harmful births, as also through dreams and through oracles, by which he may forewarn and signify to certain peoples or persons a coming disaster; which has been proved by very many experiences.

Thus a fox born from a mare portended to Xerxes the dissolution of his kingdom. To Alexander a monster born from a woman, which had the upper parts of a human body, but dead, and the lower parts of diverse beasts, but living, signified the king's sudden slaying: for the worse parts had outlived the better. But these monsters, which are given in signs, do not live long, but die immediately as soon as they are born. Now there is a difference between a 'portentum' and a 'portentuosum.' For 'portenta' are those things that are transfigured, as it is reported that in Umbria a woman gave birth to a serpent. Whence Lucan says: 'And her own infant terrified the mother.' But 'portentuosa' undergo a slight change, for example when children are born with six fingers.

Portents, therefore, or portentous things, exist: some by the magnitude of the whole body beyond the common measure of men, such as was Tityos, lying over nine acres, as Homer testifies; others by the smallness of the whole body, such as dwarfs (nani), or those whom the Greeks call Pygmies, because they are of a cubit's stature. Others by the magnitude of parts, as with a misshapen head, or with superfluous parts of the limbs, as those with two heads (bicipites) and three hands (trimani), or 'cynodontes,' from whom double teeth protrude. Others by the defect of parts, in whom one part falls far short of the other, as hand from hand, or foot from foot. Others by amputation, as those generated without a hand or a head, whom the Greeks call 'steresioi.' Others by numerical excess, when only a head or a leg is born.

Others, which are transfigured in part, such as those who have the face of a lion or a dog, or a bull's head or body, as they relate that the Minotaur was begotten of Pasiphaë; which the Greeks call HETEROMORPHIA. Others, which are wholly transfigured into the portent of an alien creation, as history says that a calf was begotten from a woman. Others, which have a change of positions without transfiguration, as eyes in the chest or in the forehead, ears above the temples: or, as Aristotle relates, one who had his liver on the left side and his spleen on the right. Others according to congenital fusion, as when in one hand more fingers are found fused together and cohering, and in the other fewer, or likewise in the feet.

Others according to immature and intemperate creation, such as those who are born already toothed, or bearded, or grey-haired. Others by a combination of very many differences, such as that multiform portent which we mentioned before in the case of Alexander. Others by a mixing of gender, such as those called ANDROGYNOI and HERMAPHRODITAI. Hermaphrodites are so named because in them either sex appears. For HERMES among the Greeks is called the male, APHRODITE the female. These, having the right breast masculine and the left feminine, by coupling in turn both beget and bring forth. Now just as in individual nations there are certain monsters among men, so in the whole human race there are certain monstrous nations, such as the Giants, the Cynocephali, the Cyclopes, and the rest.

The Giants (Gigantes) are so called according to the etymology of the Greek tongue, who suppose them to be GEGENEIS, that is, earth-born, because, as the fable goes, mother Earth begot them of immense bulk and like to herself. For GE is called 'earth,' GENOS 'race'; though the common people too call them 'sons of the earth,' whose lineage is uncertain. But certain ignorant men falsely opine, as perverters of the Holy Scriptures, that before the flood angels lay with the daughters of men, and that thence were born the Giants, that is, exceedingly great and strong men, with whom the earth was filled. The Cynocephali are so called because they have dogs' heads, and their very barking confesses them to be beasts rather than men. These are born in India. The Cyclopes also that same India begets;

and they are called Cyclopes because they are said to have a single eye in the middle of the forehead. These are also called AGRIOPHAGITAI, because they eat only the flesh of wild beasts. The Blemmyae in Libya they believe are born as trunks without a head, and to have their mouth and eyes in the chest. Others are begotten without necks, having their eyes in their shoulders. In the farthest East, moreover, monstrous faces of peoples are recorded. Some are without nostrils, the whole surface of the face being level, having shapeless countenances. Others have the lower lip so protruding that in the heats of the sun they cover their whole face with it while sleeping. Others have their mouths grown shut, and taking in nourishment only through a small opening by means of oat-straws. Some are said to be without tongues, using a nod or gesture to one another in place of speech.

The Panotii, they say, are in Scythia, with ears of such spreading size that they cover their whole body with them. For PAN in the Greek tongue means 'all,' and OTA 'ears.' The Artabatitae in Ethiopia are said to walk stooping like cattle: none passes beyond the fortieth year of life. The Satyrs are little men with hooked nostrils; they have horns on their foreheads, and are similar to goats in their feet, such as Saint Antony saw in the desert. One of them, when questioned, is reported to have answered the servant of God, saying: 'I am mortal, one of the dwellers of the desert, whom heathendom, deluded by manifold error, worships as Fauns and Satyrs.' There are also said to be certain woodland men, whom some call fig-loving Fauns (Fauni ficarii).

The race of the Sciopodes is said to be in Ethiopia, with single legs and of marvellous swiftness: the Greeks call them SKIOPODES for this reason, because in the heat they lie on the ground on their backs and are shaded by the magnitude of their feet. The Antipodes in Libya have soles turned backwards behind their legs, and eight toes on each sole. The Hippopodes are in Scythia, having human form and horses' feet. In India, they say, there is a nation which is called MACROBIOI, having a stature of twelve feet. There is also there a nation of a cubit's stature, whom the Greeks from the cubit call Pygmies, of whom we spoke above. These hold the mountainous regions of India, to whom the ocean is neighbouring.

They report that in the same India there is a nation of women who conceive at five years of age and do not exceed the eighth year of life. There are also said to be other fabulous portents of men, which do not exist, but are invented and interpreted as explanations of things, such as Geryon, king of Spain, reported to have been of triple form. For there were three brothers of such concord that in three bodies there was as it were one soul. The Gorgons too, harlots with hair of serpents, who turned those looking upon them into stones, having a single eye which they used by turns. Now there were three sisters of one beauty, as it were of one eye, who made their beholders so astounded that they were thought to turn them into stones.

They imagine that there were three Sirens, in part maidens, in part birds, having wings and talons: of whom one used to sing with her voice, another with pipes, the third with a lyre. And these, having lured sailors under their song, would draw them into shipwreck. But according to the truth they were harlots, who, because they used to lead travellers into destitution, were feigned to inflict shipwreck. And they were imagined to have had wings and talons, because love both flies and wounds. They are said to have lingered there among the waves, because the waves created Venus.

They also say that Scylla was a woman girded with dogs' heads and loud barkings, on account of the strait of the Sicilian sea, in which sailors, terrified by the whirlpools of the waves rushing together against one another, imagine that the waves are barking, waves which the whirlpool of the devouring surge dashes together. They likewise invent certain monsters of irrational creatures, such as Cerberus, the dog of the underworld having three heads, signifying by him the three ages through which death devours a man, that is, infancy, youth, and old age. Some suppose that he was for this reason called Cerberus, as if 'kreoboros,' that is, 'flesh-devouring.' They also speak of the Hydra, a serpent with nine heads, which in Latin is called 'excetra,' because when one head was cut off three would grow up.

But it is established that the Hydra was a place spewing forth waters and laying waste a neighbouring city, in which, when one channel was stopped up, many would break out. Hercules, seeing this, burned up those very places and thus closed the outlets of the waters. For 'hydra' is named from water ('aqua'). Ambrose makes mention of this in a likeness of heresies, saying (On the Faith 1,4): 'For heresy, like some hydra of fables, has grown by its own wounds; and while it is often cut back, it has sprouted afresh, doomed to fire and destined to perish in the conflagration.' They also invent the Chimaera, a three-formed beast: a lion in front, a dragon in its hindmost parts, a she-goat in the middle. Some natural philosophers say that it was not an animal, but a mountain of Cilicia, nourishing lions and she-goats in certain places, burning in certain places, and full of serpents in certain places.

Bellerophon made this mountain habitable, whence he is said to have slain the Chimaera. The name of Centaurs was applied to a species, that is, a man mixed with a horse; some say they were the horsemen of the Thessalians, but because, as they galloped in war, the bodies of horses and men seemed to be as one, from this men asserted the Centaurs to be a fiction. Furthermore the Minotaur took its name from bull ('taurus') and man ('homo'), a kind of beast which they say in fable was shut up in the Labyrinth. Concerning it Ovid writes (Art of Love 2,24): 'the half-bull man and the half-man bull.' The Onocentaur is so called because it is said to be half in the form of a man and half of an ass; just as the Hippocentaurs, because the nature of horses and men is thought to have been joined in them. IV. ON THINGS TRANSFORMED.

There are also written certain monstrous transformations and changes of men into beasts, as concerning that most famous sorceress Circe, who is said to have changed even the companions of Ulysses into beasts; and concerning the Arcadians, who, being chosen by lot, would swim across a certain lake and there be turned into wolves. For also they confirm, not by fabulous falsehood but by historical affirmation, that the companions of Diomedes were turned into birds. But some also assert that Strigae (screech-witches) are made out of human beings. For unto many crimes the shapes of the wicked are changed, and whether by magic incantations or by the poison of herbs they pass over in their whole bodies into wild beasts. Indeed by nature also very many things undergo change, and being corrupted are transformed into diverse species;

as bees come from the rotting flesh of calves, beetles from horses, locusts from mules, scorpions from crabs. Ovid (Metamorphoses 15,369): 'If you take away the hollow claws of the shore-dwelling crab, a scorpion will come forth, and it will threaten with its hooked tail.'