Stephanus 65

65a in their pains, and, restored once more to the same state, in their pleasures. Whatever has received its withdrawals and emptyings in small degrees, but its refillings all at once and in large measure—becoming insensible to the emptying while perceptive of the filling—gives the mortal part of the soul no pain, but the greatest pleasures; the case of sweet smells shows this plainly. And whatever is estranged all at once, and returns to its own state 65b again with difficulty and by little and little, gives back the opposite in everything; these are the plain cases of burnings and cuttings of the body.

So much, then, is nearly said of the affections common to the whole body, and of as many of the names as have arisen for those who undergo them. The affections that arise in our own particular parts, and the causes in the things that act, we must now try to describe as far as 65c we can. First, then, what we left unsaid earlier in speaking of the juices—affections proper to the tongue—must be brought to light as best we can. These too, like most things, appear to come about through certain combinations and separations, and to make rather more use than the rest of roughness and smoothness. Whatever enters the little veins—the tongue's testing vessels, as it were, 65d stretched toward the heart—and falling into the moist, tender earthen parts of the flesh dissolves them, draws the veins together and dries them: being rougher, these appear as astringent; those that roughen less, as harsh. And those that cleanse these and rinse the whole tongue—doing this beyond due measure, and laying on until they melt away its very nature, like the power of lye 65e—have all been named bitter; while the weaker kinds, below the lye-like state, which cleanse up to the moderate degree, are salty, without rough bitterness, and show themselves the more welcome to us.

Timaeus: And whatever shares the heat of the mouth and is ground down by it, heated with it and in turn heating back what warms it, then carried by its lightness up to the seat of sensation in the head, and cutting

65a pains, and gaining pleasures when they settle back into their former state. Some things let go of what is in them and empty out little by little, while their fillings come all at once and in large amounts. The emptying is not noticed; the filling is felt. These give the mortal part of the soul no pain, but the greatest pleasures. This is clear in sweet smells. Other things are stripped all at once, but return 65b to their former state only little by little and with difficulty. They do the opposite in every way. That is plain in the burns and cuts of the body.

So much, then, for the common conditions of the body as a whole, and for the names those conditions have won among the people who feel them. Next we must try to describe the things that happen in our own parts—the conditions themselves and the causes of what does them—as far as 65c we can. First, we should make clear, as far as we can, what we left out earlier when we spoke of the juices: the conditions special to the tongue. These too, like most things, appear to come about through certain combinations and separations. But they make more use of roughness and smoothness than the other senses do. Whatever enters the small veins—such as the tongue's test veins 65d stretched toward the heart—falls into the moist, tender, earthy parts of the flesh and melts them, drawing the veins together and drying them. The rougher ones come across as harsh; the ones that roughen less come across as astringent. The things that cleanse these parts and wash the whole tongue, doing this past the right measure and taking hold so far as to dissolve the tongue's very nature—like the power 65e of lye—are all called bitter. Those that fall short of the lye-like state, and cleanse in the right measure, come across as brackish, without a rough bitterness, and they seem friendlier to us.

Timaeus: The things that share the heat of the mouth and are ground down by it catch fire along with it and pay the heating back in turn. Their lightness carries them up toward the sensations in the head, and they cut

65a pains when they suffer alteration, and pleasures when they are restored to their original state. And all those bodies which undergo losses of substance and emptyings that are gradual, but replenishings that are intense and abundant, become insensitive to the emptyings but sensitive to the replenishings; consequently, they furnish no pains to the mortal part of the soul, but the greatest pleasures—a result which is obvious in the case of perfumes. But all those parts which undergo violent alterations, and are restored gradually and with difficulty 65b to their original condition, produce results the opposite of those last mentioned; and it is evident that this is what occurs in the case of burnings and cuttings of the body.

And now we have given a fairly complete statement of the affections which are common to the body as a whole, and of all the names which belong to the agents which produce them. Next we must try, if haply we are able, to describe what takes place in the several parts of our bodies, both the affections themselves and the agents to which they are ascribed. 65c

Firstly, then, we must endeavor to elucidate so far as possible those affections which we omitted in our previous account of the flavors, they being affections peculiar to the tongue. It is evident that these also, like most others, are brought about by means of certain contractions and dilations; and, more than other affections, they involve also conditions of roughness and smoothness. For all the earthy particles which enter in by the small veins—which, extending as far as to the heart, serve as it were 65d for testing-instruments of the tongue,—when they strike upon the moist and soft parts of the flesh and are melted down, contract the small veins and dry them up; and these particles when more rough appear to be astringent, when less rough harsh. And such as act on these veins as detergents and wash out all the surface of the tongue, when they do this excessively and lay such hold on the tongue as to dissolve part of its substance—and such, for example, is the property of alkalies,— 65e are all termed bitter; while those which have a property less strong than the alkaline, being detergent in a moderate degree, seem to us to be saline, and more agreeable, as being devoid of the rough bitterness.

Timaeus: And those which share in the heat of the mouth and are made smooth thereby, when they are fully inflamed and are themselves in turn burning the part which heated them, fly upwards because of their lightness towards the senses of the head and cut all the parts on which they impinge;