友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!
恐怖书库 返回本书目录 加入书签 我的书架 我的书签 TXT全本下载 『收藏到我的浏览器』

on sense and the sensible-第5部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完,想下次继续接着阅读,可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能!




is the efficient cause of savour。



  (a) Of these three hypotheses; the falsity of that held by



Empedocles is only too evident。 For we see that when pericarpal fruits



are plucked 'from the tree' and exposed in the sun; or subjected to



the action of fire; their sapid juices are changed by the heat;



which shows that their qualities are not due to their drawing anything



from the water in the ground; but to a change which they undergo



within the pericarp itself; and we see; moreover; that these juices;



when extracted and allowed to lie; instead of sweet become by lapse of



time harsh or bitter; or acquire savours of any and every sort; and



that; again; by the process of boiling or fermentation they are made



to assume almost all kinds of new savours。



  (b) It is likewise impossible that water should be a material



qualified to generate all kinds of Savour germs 'so that different



savours should arise out of different parts of the water'; for we



see different kinds of taste generated from the same water; having



it as their nutriment。



  (C) It remains; therefore; to suppose that the water is changed by



passively receiving some affection from an external agent。 Now; it



is manifest that water does not contract the quality of sapidity



from the agency of Heat alone。 For water is of all liquids the



thinnest; thinner even than oil itself; though oil; owing to its



viscosity; is more ductile than water; the latter being uncohesive



in its particles; whence water is more difficult than oil to hold in



the hand without spilling。 But since perfectly pure water does not;



when subjected to the action of Heat; show any tendency to acquire



consistency; we must infer that some other agency than heat is the



cause of sapidity。 For all savours 'i。e。 sapid liquors' exhibit a



comparative consistency。 Heat is; however; a coagent in the matter。



  Now the sapid juices found in pericarpal fruits evidently exist also



in the earth。 Hence many of the old natural philosophers assert that



water has qualities like those of the earth through which it flows;



a fact especially manifest in the case of saline springs; for salt



is a form of earth。 Hence also when liquids are filtered through



ashes; a bitter substance; the taste they yield is bitter。 There are



many wells; too; of which some are bitter; others acid; while others



exhibit other tastes of all kinds。



  As was to be anticipated; therefore; it is in the vegetable



kingdom that tastes occur in richest variety。 For; like all things



else; the Moist; by nature's law; is affected only by its contrary;



and this contrary is the Dry。 Thus we see why the Moist is affected by



Fire; which as a natural substance; is dry。 Heat is; however; the



essential property of Fire; as Dryness is of Earth; according to



what has been said in our treatise on the elements。 Fire and Earth;



therefore; taken absolutely as such; have no natural power to



affect; or be affected by; one another; nor have any other pair of



substances。 Any two things can affect; or be affected by; one



another only so far as contrariety to the other resides in either of



them。



  As; therefore; persons washing Colours or Savours in a liquid



cause the water in which they wash to acquire such a quality 'as



that of the colour or savour'; so nature; too; by washing the Dry



and Earthy in the Moist; and by filtering the latter; that is;



moving it on by the agency of heat through the dry and earthy; imparts



to it a certain quality。 This affection; wrought by the aforesaid



Dry in the Moist; capable of transforming the sense of Taste from



potentiality to actuality; is Savour。 Savour brings into actual



exercise the perceptive faculty which pre…existed only in potency。 The



activity of sense…perception in general is analogous; not to the



process of acquiring knowledge; but to that of exercising knowledge



already acquired。



  That Savours; either as a quality or as the privation of a



quality; belong not to every form of the Dry but to the Nutrient; we



shall see by considering that neither the Dry without the Moist; nor



the Moist without the Dry; is nutrient。 For no single element; but



only composite substance; constitutes nutriment for animals。 Now;



among the perceptible elements of the food which animals assimilate;



the tangible are the efficient causes of growth and decay; it is qua



hot or cold that the food assimilated causes these; for the heat or



cold is the direct cause of growth or decay。 It is qua gustable;



however; that the assimilated food supplies nutrition。 For all



organisms are nourished by the Sweet 'i。e。 the 'gustable' proper';



either by itself or in combination with other savours。 Of this we must



speak with more precise detail in our work on Generation: for the



present we need touch upon it only so far as our subject here



requires。 Heat causes growth; and fits the food…stuff for



alimentation; it attracts 'into the organic system' that which is



light 'viz。 the sweet'; while the salt and bitter it rejects because



of their heaviness。 In fact; whatever effects external heat produces



in external bodies; the same are produced by their internal heat in



animal and vegetable organisms。 Hence it is 'i。e。 by the agency of



heat as described' that nourishment is effected by the sweet。 The



other savours are introduced into and blended in food 'naturally' on a



principle analogous to that on which the saline or the acid is used



artificially; i。e。 for seasoning。 These latter are used because they



counteract the tendency of the sweet to be too nutrient; and to



float on the stomach。



  As the intermediate colours arise from the mixture of white and



black; so the intermediate savours arise from the Sweet and Bitter;



and these savours; too; severally involve either a definite ratio;



or else an indefinite relation of degree; between their components;



either having certain integral numbers at the basis of their



mixture; and; consequently; of their stimulative effect; or else being



mixed in proportions not arithmetically expressible。 The tastes



which give pleasure in their combination are those which have their



components joined in a definite ratio。



  The sweet taste alone is Rich; 'therefore the latter may be regarded



as a variety of the former'; while 'so far as both imply privation



of the Sweet' the Saline is fairly identical with the Bitter。



Between the extremes of sweet and bitter come the Harsh; the



Pungent; the Astringent; and the Acid。 Savours and Colours; it will be



observed; contain respectively about the same number of species。 For



there are seven species of each; if; as is reasonable; we regard Dun



'or Grey' as a variety of Black (for the alternative is that Yellow



should be classed with White; as Rich with Sweet); while 'the



irreducible colours; viz。' Crimson; Violet; 
返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 1
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!