Alla tauta men smikra; to de megiston kai saphestaton palin entauth' hamartêma kai dê phrasô. eiper gar di' ouden all' ê hoti pachyteron men esti to haima, leptotera d' hê || xanthê cholê kai ta men tôn phlebôn 79 eurytera stomata, ta de tôn cholêdochôn angeiôn stenotera, dia touth' hê men cholê tois stenoterois angeiois te kai stomasin enarmottei, to d' haima tois euryterois, dêlon, hôs kai to hydatôdes touto kai orrhôdes perittôma tosoutô proteron eisryêsetai tois cholêdochois angeiois, hosô leptoteron esti tês cholês. pôs oun ouk eisrei? hoti pachyteron esti nê Dia to ouron tês cholês; touto gar etolmêse tis eipein tôn kath' hêmas Erasistrateiôn apostas dêlonoti tôn aisthêseôn, hais episteusen epi te tês cholês kai tou haimatos. eite gar hoti mallon hê cholê tou haimatos rhei, dia touto leptoteran autên hêmin esti nomisteon, eith' hoti di' othonês ê rhakous ê tinos êthmou rhaon diexerchetai kai tautês to orrhôdes perittôma, kata tauta ta gnôrismata pachytera tês hydatôdous hygrotêtos kai hautê genêsetai. palin gar oud' entautha logos oudeis estin, hos apodeixei leptoteran tên cholên tôn orrhôdôn perittômatôn. All' hotan tis anaischyntê periplekôn te kai mêpô katapeptôkenai synchôrôn, || homoios estai tois idiôtais 80 tôn palaistôn, hoi katablêthentes hypo tôn palaistrikôn kai kata tês gês hyptioi keimenoi tosoutou deousi to ptôma gnôrizein, hôste kai kratousi tôn auchenôn autous tous katabalontas ouk eôntes apallattesthai, kan toutô nikan hypolambanousi. III Thus, every hypothesis of _channels_[182] as an explanation of natural functioning is perfect nonsense. For, if there were not _an inborn faculty_ given by Nature to each one of the organs at the very beginning, then animals could not continue to live even for a few days, far less for the number of years which they actually do. For let us suppose they were under no guardianship, lacking in creative ingenuity[183] and forethought; let us suppose they were steered only by material forces,[184] and not by any special _faculties_ (the one attracting what is proper to it, another rejecting what is foreign, and yet another causing alteration and adhesion of the matter destined to nourish it); if we suppose this, I am sure it would be ridiculous for us to discuss natural, or, still more, psychical, activities--or, in fact, life as a whole.[185]